Financial Statement
Analysis and
Security Valuation
Financial Statement
Analysis and
Security Valuation
Fourth Edition
Stephen H. Penman
Columbia University
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FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS AND SECURITY VALUATION
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Penman, Stephen H.
Financial statement analysis and security valuation / Stephen H. Penman.—4th ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-07-337966-1 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-07-337966-2 (alk. paper)
1. Financial statements. I. Title.
HF5681.B2P4134 2010
332.63'2042—dc22
2009000972
www.mhhe.com
About the Author
Stephen H. Penman is the George O. May Professor and the Morgan Stanley Research
Scholar in the Graduate School of Business, Columbia University. He also serves as codirector of Columbia’s Center for Excellence in Accounting and Security Analysis. Prior to
his appointment at Columbia in 1999, Stephen Penman was the L.H. Penney Professor in
the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley. From
1990 to 1995 he served as Chairman of the Professional Accounting Program and
Chairman of the Accounting Faculty at Berkeley. He also initiated and chaired Berkeley’s
Annual Conference on Financial Reporting. He has served as a Visiting Professor at
Columbia University and the London Business School, and as the Jan Wallander Visiting
Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics.
Professor Penman received a first-class honors degree in Commerce from the University
of Queensland, Australia, and M.B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago.
His research is concerned with the valuation of equity and the role of accounting
information in security analysis. He has published widely in finance and accounting
journals and has conducted seminars on fundamental analysis and equity evaluation for
academic and professional audiences. In 1991 he was awarded the Notable Contribution
to Accounting Literature Award by the American Accounting Association and the American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and in 2002 he was awarded the American
Accounting Association and Deloitte & Touche Wildman Medal for his book Financial
Statement Analysis and Security Valuation, published by McGraw-Hill/Irwin. He is
an editor of the Review of Accounting Studies and is on the editorial board of the
Schmalenbach Business Review.
v
Preface
Financial statements are the lens on a business. Financial statement analysis calibrates the
lens to bring the business into focus. Imperfections in the financial statements can dirty
the lens and distort the picture. Financial statement analysis deals with the imperfections
in financial statements to improve the focus.
Financial statements have many uses, but the predominant one is to provide information
for investing in businesses. Every day millions of shares and corporate bonds are traded in
the world’s capital markets, and prices are set to value these securities. Investors want to
know what firms are worth so they can ascertain at what price to trade. They turn to
financial statement analysis to get an indication of the underlying value of firms. This book
focuses on these investors.
Underlying value is sometimes referred to as fundamental value, and the analysis of
information about fundamental value is referred to as fundamental analysis. This book is
about fundamental analysis. Financial statement analysis is central to fundamental
analysis. Indeed, in this book, fundamental analysis is developed as a matter of appropriate
financial statement analysis. As the lens on a business, financial statements, focused with
the techniques of financial statement analysis, provide a way of interpreting the business
that enables readers to understand the value it generates for shareholders.
The experience in stock markets in the late 1990s and early 2000s suggests that such
understanding is sorely needed. During those years, share prices rose considerably above
the value that was indicated by earnings, book values, sales, and other fundamental
information, only to collapse as the bubble burst. Spurred on by suspect analysis from those
representing themselves as analysts, suspect financial reporting from some companies, the
hyping of shares by corporate managements, and the speculative discussions of “talking
heads” in the media, investors ignored sound analysis in a wave of “irrational exuberance.”
The time has come to return to fundamentals. This book lays out the techniques of sound
fundamental analysis.
THE APPROACH
Conceptual Framework
Good analysis comes from good understanding. And good understanding is provided
by a conceptual framework that helps you—the student analyst—organize your thinking.
In this information age, large amounts of information about firms are readily available to be
processed. A conceptual framework guides you in using this information intelligently and
economically—to turn the information into knowledge.
This book works from a conceptual framework that helps you understand how
businesses work, how they generate value, and how the value they generate is captured (or
not captured) in financial statements. The framework helps you translate your knowledge
of a business into a valuation. The framework helps you interpret what you see in financial
statements. It gives you answers to the many important questions facing analysts. What
“fundamentals” should the analyst focus on—dividends, cash flows, or earnings? How is an
analyst’s earnings forecast converted into a valuation? How can an investor rely on earnings
when earnings are sometimes measured with doubtful accounting methods? What role does
vi
Preface vii
the balance sheet play? What is a growth company and how is growth valued? What does a
firm’s price-earnings (P/E) ratio tell you? What does its price-to-book ratio tell you? How
does one determine what the P/E or price-to-book should be?
Most important, the framework gives you the security that your analysis is a sound one.
The framework is built block by block from “first principles” so that you see clearly where
the analysis comes from and, by the end of the book, have a firm understanding of the
principles of fundamental analysis. You will also be able to distinguish good analysis from
poor analysis.
Practical Tools
This book is about understanding, but it is primarily about doing. Concepts and
frameworks are important only if they lead to analysis tools. Each chapter of the book ends
with a list of Key Concepts, but also with the Analyst’s Toolkit that summarizes the key
analysis tools in the chapter. By the end of the book, you will have a complete set of tools
for practical analysis. The Toolkit is efficiently organized so that the analyst proceeds in
a disciplined way with the assurance that his or her analysis is coherent and does not
overlook any aspect of the value generation in a firm. The book identifies too-simple
methods of analysis and shuns ad hoc methods. However, it also strives to develop simple
schemes, with a sense of trade-off between the benefit of more complicated analysis over
the cost. At all points in the book, methods are illustrated with applications to recognizable
firms such as Dell, Inc., Cisco Systems, Nike, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and many more.
Valuation and Strategy
The tools in the book are those that a security analyst outside the firm uses to advise clients
about investing in the firm. These analysts present their recommendations in an equity
research report. After studying this text, you will have the ability to write a persuasive,
state-of-the-art equity research report. But the tools are also those that a manager within a
firm uses to evaluate investments. The analyst outside the firm values the firm on the basis
of what he understands the firm’s strategy to be, while the manager within the firm uses the
same tools to evaluate investments and choose the strategy. The techniques that are used to
assess the value of a firm’s strategy are also the techniques used to choose among strategies,
so this book integrates valuation analysis and strategy analysis.
Accounting-Based Approach to Valuation
Valuation texts typically use discounted cash flow analysis to value businesses. However,
analysts typically forecast earnings to indicate business value, and equity research reports
primarily discuss firms’ earnings, not their cash flows, to get a sense of whether the firm is
making money for investors. “Buy earnings” is indeed the mantra of investing. The stock
market focuses on earnings; analysts’ and managements’ earnings forecasts drive share
prices, and when a firm announces earnings that are different from analysts’ earnings
estimates, the stock price responds accordingly. Revelations of overstated earnings result in
large drops in stock prices—as with the Xerox, Enron, Qwest, WorldCom, Krispy Kreme, and
other accounting scandals that broke as the stock market bubble burst. Investment houses are
increasingly moving from cash flow valuation models to earnings-based valuation models.
This book focuses on earnings forecasting and the methods for converting earnings
forecasts to a valuation. The reason will become clear as you proceed through the book:
Earnings, appropriately measured, give a better indication of the value generation in
a business, so the analysis of earnings prospects leads to a firmer understanding of
viii Preface
fundamental value. Graham and Dodd and the fundamental analysts of earlier generations
emphasized “earnings power.” This book maintains that focus, but in a way that is
consistent with the principles of modern finance. One must be careful, for there is a danger
in paying too much for earnings.
Earnings differ from cash flows because of the “accruals” of accounting, so the book
lays out how accrual accounting helps in understanding a business and its value. Accruals
such as depreciation, pension liabilities, and deferred taxes are shown to have a purpose. A
cash flow perspective sees accruals, rather, as arbitrary. The book shows how to work with
the accounting rather than dismissing it. As accruals affect both the income statement and
the balance sheet, earnings (in the income statement) cannot be interpreted without the
balance sheet that lists assets that generate the earnings. Therefore, the accrual-accounting
framework is one of income statements and balance sheets working together.
Financial statements are sometimes dismissed as uninformative, but you will see that,
with the appropriate analysis, they can be quite revealing. With the appropriate analysis, the
financial statements come to life.
The Quality of the Accounting
With an understanding of how accounting should work, you will develop an appreciation in
this book of what is good accounting and what is poor accounting. By the end of the book
you will recognize the defects in financial statements that are issued by firms and will have
developed a critique of the “generally accepted accounting principles” and disclosure rules
that determine what is in the statements. You will also understand how the accounting in
reports can be distorted, as well as discover tools that detect the distortion and give you an
indication of the quality of the accounting that a firm uses.
Integrating Finance and Accounting
Financial statements are prepared according to the dictates of accounting principles, and
you take accounting courses to learn these accounting principles. Your appreciation of
financial statements from these courses is often in terms of the accounting used to prepare
them, not in terms of what the financial statements say about investing in businesses.
Principles of finance guide investment analysis and you typically take finance courses to
learn these principles. However, the investment analysis in these courses often does not
employ financial statements or accounting concepts in any systematic way. Often you see
finance and accounting as distinct or, if you see them as related, the relationship is vague in
your mind. Finance courses are sometimes dismissive of accounting, while accounting
courses sometimes propose analysis that violates the principles of finance. This book
integrates your learning from finance and accounting courses. By integrating financial
statement analysis and fundamental analysis, the book combines accounting concepts with
finance concepts. Accounting is viewed as a matter of accounting for value and the
accounting for value is appropriated for investment analysis. The organized structure of the
financial statements helps organize fundamental analysis. Accounting principles for
measuring balance sheets and income statements are incorporated as principles for
measuring value. All analysis is performed in a way that is consistent with the principles of
modern finance and with an appreciation of what is good accounting and what is poor
accounting.
Activist Approach
Investment texts often take the view that capital markets are “efficient,” such that market
prices always reflect the underlying value of the securities traded. These texts are primarily
Preface ix
concerned with measuring risk, not with valuation. The investor is viewed as relatively
passive, accepting prices as fair value, concerned primarily with managing risk through
asset allocation. This text takes an activist’s perspective. Active investors do not “assume
that the market is efficient.” Rather, active investors challenge the market price with sound
analysis, checking whether that price is a fair price. Indeed, they exploit what is perceived
to be mispricing in the market to earn superior returns. Active investors adopt the creed of
fundamental analysts: Price is what you pay, value is what you get. They believe that an
important risk in equity investing is the risk of paying too much for a share, so active
investors seek to gain an appreciation of value independently of price. Whether or not the
market is efficient, you will find this perspective engaging.
Negotiating with Mr. Market
Benjamin Graham saw equity investing as a matter of “negotiating with Mr. Market” over
the price to pay. The book shows how to carry out these negotiations. In the spirit of
comparing price with value, analysts typically think of calculating a “true” intrinsic value
for a stock and comparing that to Mr. Market’s price quote. This is not bad thinking but,
with so many uncertainties involved, establishing one true number for the intrinsic value
with confidence is difficult. The book takes a different approach: Understand how earnings
forecasts relate to value, reverse engineer the market price to understand the forecast that
Mr. Market is making, and then challenge that forecast. This recognizes that valuation is
not a game against nature, but rather a game against other investors; one does not have to
find the true value but rather what other investors are thinking. Financial statement analysis
that challenges this thinking is then the focus in the dialogue with Mr. Market.
The Fourth Edition
This edition of the book emphasizes this process in challenging market prices. Accountingbased valuation models, introduced in Chapters 5 and 6, are presented as tools to understand
forecasts implied by market prices, and minicases at the end of those chapters focus on this
application. The process is refined in Part Three of the book after the financial statement
analysis of Part Two, for it is this financial statement analysis that the investors refer to in
challenging the forecasts implicit in market prices.
The required return (or the cost of capital) has always been a frustrating aspect of valuation.
Despite many years of dedicated attempts, modern finance has not been able to deliver a
method to estimate the required return with any reliability. Earlier editions of the book warned
of the problem and, in Chapter 18, turned to a fundamental analysis of the risk to inform about
the required return. In this edition, this material is supplemented with a distinction between the
required return and the expected return from buying a security at the current market price; the
two are the same only if prices are efficient. Once again, reverse engineering is applied, now to
calculate the expected return to investing that the investor can appraise with the tools from the
risk analysis. This goes some way to finessing the problem of not knowing the required return.
When I wrote the first edition of this book (in 1999), world equity markets were
experiencing what, in retrospect, is seen as a market bubble. The book was couched in
terms of challenging the high price-earnings and price-to-book ratios at that time with
fundamental analysis. The episode is an important historical lesson in overvaluation, so that
perspective continues in this edition, beginning in Chapter 1. However, the writing of the
fourth edition coincided with the credit crisis in the fall of 2008, with price multiples now
lower than historical benchmarks. This edition thus emphasizes that the analysis techniques
it offers are just as applicable to challenging underpricing as well as overpricing. It also
warns of the risk of investing in uncertain times and points out that, just as bubbles can
perpetuate for some time, so can depressed prices.
x
Preface
The Overview
Chapter 1 introduces you to financial statement analysis and fundamental analysis, and sets
the stage for the rest of the book. Chapter 2 introduces you to the financial statements. The
remainder of the book is in five parts:
• Part One (Chapters 3–6) develops the thinking that is necessary to perform fundamental
analysis. It integrates finance concepts with accounting concepts and shows you how the
structure of accounting can be exploited for valuation analysis. Good thinking about
valuation is captured in a valuation model, so this part of the book ends with accrualaccounting valuation models that provide the framework for the practical analysis that follows
in the rest of the book.These models show you how to calculate intrinsic price-earnings ratios
and price-to-book ratios.Alternative models are discussed as competing technologies, so you
develop an appreciation of the strength and weaknesses of alternative approaches.
• Part Two (Chapters 7–12) lays out the financial statement analysis that identifies value
generation in a business and provides information for forecasting. In this part of the
book you will see the lens being focused on the business.
• Part Three (Chapters 13–15) deals with forecasting. The value of a firm and its shares
is based on the payoffs it is expected to yield investors; thus, using the information from
the financial statement analysis, this part of the book shows you how to forecast payoffs.
The forecasting is developed within a financial statement framework so that forecasting
is an exercise in pro forma financial statement analysis. The analysis then shows how to
convert forecasts into valuations of firms and their strategies.
• Part Four (Chapters 16 and 17) deals with accounting issues that arise with the use of
accounting-based valuation. It shows how to accommodate different accounting
methods for measuring earnings and how to analyze the quality of the accounting used
in financial statements.
• Part Five (Chapters 18 and 19) lays out the fundamental analysis of risk, both equity
risk and credit risk, and provides a pro forma analysis that integrates equity analysis and
credit analysis.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:
A TOOLKIT FOR ANALYSTS AND MANAGERS
The best way to tackle this book is to see yourself as putting together a Toolkit for analyzing
financial statements and valuing businesses and business strategies.As a professional analyst
or business planner, you want to be using the best technologies available, to get an edge on
the competition. So approach the book in the spirit of sorting out what are good methods and
what are poor ones.You require methods that are practical as well as conceptually sound.
As you read the text, you will learn the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
How fundamental value (or “intrinsic” value) is ascertained
How to analyze business strategies to understand the value that they add
How to perform financial statement analysis
How financial statements are used to value firms
What a good equity research report looks like
How to prepare business forecasts
How “fundamentals” such as dividends, cash flows, earnings, and book values are used
in valuation
Preface xi
•
•
•
•
•
•
What determines a firm’s price/earnings ratio
What determines a firm’s price-to-book ratio
How to analyze the quality of the accounting in financial reports
How to analyze equity risk from financial statements
How to analyze credit risk
How to trade on fundamental information.
USING THE BOOK
Background Requirements
To comprehend the text material, you should have a basic course in financial accounting
and a basic course in finance. A second course in financial accounting and a course in
investments or corporate finance will be helpful but not necessary. Indeed, you may find
yourself motivated to take those courses after reading this book.
Chapter Features
The text is written with features designed to enhance your efforts in learning the material. Each
chapter of the book begins with a flow chart that lays out the material covered in the chapter and
connects that material to the preceding and upcoming chapters. This chart will help you see
clearly where you’ve been and where you are going, and how it all ties together. Each chapter also
opens with TheAnalyst’s Checklist, which has two lists: one covering the conceptual points in
the chapter and the other a set of tasks that you should be able to perform after working the
chapter. This outlines the goals of the chapter, setting you up for mastery of the material at hand.
Each chapter concludes with TheAnalyst’s Toolkit, a convenient resource complete with page
references, that summarizes the analysis tools in the chapter—ideal for studying and review.
End-of-Chapter Material
Each chapter ends with a set of concept questions, exercises, and minicases. Working through
this material will enhance your understanding considerably. These problems are designed, not
so much to test you, but to further your learning with practical analysis. Each problem makes
a point. Concept questions reinforce the thinking in the chapter. Exercises apply methods
covered in the chapter. Drill Exercises lead you gently into the analysis. Applications focus
on issues involving specific companies. Minicases, designed for classroom discussion, are
more contextual and involve a broader set of issues, some involving ambiguity. They are
written more concisely than full cases so that you do not have to handle a large amount of
detail, and classroom time is used more efficiently to make the point. However, the minicases
involve considerable analysis and insight, providing stimulus for group discussion.
As with the chapter material, the Exercises and Minicases often use the same real world
companies to make different points in different parts of the book. To help you refer back to
earlier material on the same company, the Exercises and Minicases are marked with an
easy-to-identify Real World Connection tagline.
The Continuing Case
A continuing case for one company—Kimberly-Clark Corporation—weaves its way
through the book. At the end of each chapter (through Chapter 15), you receive a new
installment of the case which shows how the principles and methods in that chapter are
applied to Kimberly-Clark and build on the analysis of previous chapters. By the end, you
have a demonstration of the application of the book, in total, to one company as a model for
other companies. Work the case, then check your solution against that on the book’s Web site.
xii
Preface
Web Site Reinforcement
The material in the text is supplemented with further analysis on the book’s Web site
at www.mhhe.com/penman4e. The Student Center on the Web site contains the following:
• Chapter supplements for each chapter in the book. The flow chart at the beginning of
each chapter of the text refers you to the Web site, and The Web Connection at the end
of each chapter summarizes what you will find in the supplements.
• Solutions to the Continuing Case.
• Additional exercises for each chapter, along with solutions. Work these exercises and
correct yourself with the solutions to reinforce your learning.
• Accounting Clinics I–VII review accounting issues that are particularly relevant to
equity and credit analysis. Among the topics covered are revenue recognition, fair value
and historical cost accounting, accounting for debt and equity investments, accounting
for stock compensation, pension accounting, and the accounting for taxes.
• Build Your Own Analysis Product (BYOAP) on the Web site shows you how to build
your own financial statement analysis and valuation spreadsheet product using the
principles and methods in the book. It is not a final product that you can immediately
appropriate; rather it is a guidebook for constructing your own. As such, it is a learning
device; rather than mechanically applying a black-box product, you learn by doing. With
the completed product you can analyze financial statements; forecast earnings, residual
earnings, abnormal earnings growth, cash flows, and dividends; and then value firms and
strategies with a variety of techniques. Add your own bells and whistles. In short, the
product is the basis for preparing an equity research report and for carrying out due
diligence as a professional. You will find the building process will give you a feeling of
accomplishment, and the final product—of your own construction—will be a valuable
tool to carry into your professional life or to use for your own investing. Off-the-shelf
products are also available. eVal 2000, authored by Russell Lundholm and Richard
Sloan, is available through McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Spreadsheet engines for specific tasks
are available in the chapter supplements on the Web page for each chapter.
• Links to firms’ financial statements and to many other sources of financial information.
You will also find engines to screen and analyze stocks and to help you build your own
analysis tools.
• Market Insight (Educational Version) from Standard & Poor’s contains financial
information on 370 companies. Access codes are available from your instructor.
Resources for Instructors
The book is accompanied by ancillaries that support the teaching and learning. The
Instructor Center on the book’s Web site contains the following:
• Solutions Manual with detailed solutions to the end-of-chapter material.
• Teaching Notes with advice for teaching from the book, alternative course outlines, a
number of teaching tools, and a commentary on each chapter of the book.
• PowerPoint slides for each chapter.
• Test Bank containing further problems and exercises.
• Accounting Clinics to cover the accounting issues in the book in more detail.
• Chapter Notes for each chapter.
Acknowledgments
This book capsulates what I have learned as a student of the subject. I am indebted to many
writers and professors for that learning. The book has the investment philosophy of
Graham, Dodd, and Cottle’s Security Analysis, the book assigned for my first finance course
as an undergraduate. It also incorporates the accounting concepts from my study of
accounting theory at the University of Queensland and from reading the classics of Paton
and Littleton, Sprouse and Moonitz, and Edwards and Bell, to name a few. It reflects my
training in the principles of “modern finance,” first as a graduate student at the University
of Chicago and subsequently from colleagues at Berkeley.
I have learned much from carrying out research on accounting and valuation. In
seminars, workshops, and informal discussions, I have been stimulated by the insights of
many colleagues at universities around the world. I have a particular debt to Jim Ohlson,
whose theoretical work on accounting valuation models has inspired me, as have our many
conversations on research and teaching. I am also indebted to my students at Berkeley, the
London Business School, and Columbia University, who have worked with draft versions
of this book and given me valuable feedback. Peter Easton and his students at The Ohio
State University, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Chicago also used
drafts of the first edition and were generous with their comments.
My appreciation also goes to Lorraine Seiji at Berkeley, whose dedication to preparing
the manuscript for the first edition was outstanding. Terrence Gabriel and Rachel Winston
at Columbia provided similar support for later editions. Luis Palencia, Doron Nissim,
Nir Yehuda, and Mingcherng Deng helped in preparing the graphical material, and Feng
Chen, Mingcherng Deng, Guohua Jiang, Siyi Li, and Nir Yehuda provided valuable
accuracy checking and help with supporting materials. To them all I am grateful. Nancy
Banks, as always, gave strong support. The administrations at Berkeley, the London
Business School, and the Columbia Business School, and my colleagues at these schools,
lent support at various stages of the book’s preparation. George Werthman, Erin Cibula,
Gina Huck, Rebecca Mann, Megan McFarlane, Dana Pauley, Robin Reed, Tim Vertovec,
and the entire team at McGraw-Hill/Irwin have been outstanding. Stewart Mattson has
overseen the development of the book with an expert hand. Instructors, too many to
mention, gave feedback on their experience with the first and second editions.
Anonymous reviewers went out of their way to help improve the manuscript. I am very
thankful to them. Now identified, they are listed below. Bruce Johnson requires special
mention. He went through the manuscript for the first edition word by word, challenged it,
and persuaded me to make numerous improvements.
Pervaiz Alam
Kent State University
Holly Ashbaugh
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Scott Boylan
Washington and Lee University
Shelly Canterbury
George Mason University
Agnes Cheng
University of Houston
Michael Clement
University of Texas at Austin
xiii
xiv
Acknowledgments
Peter Easton
The Ohio State University
Jocelyn Evans
College of Charleston
Patricia Fairfield
Georgetown University
Richard Gore
Boise State University
Bruce Johnson
University of Iowa
Sok-Hyon Kang
George Washington University
Charles Lee
Cornell University
Gerald Lobo
Syracuse University
Ronald King
Washington University
Arijit Mukherji
University of Minnesota
Jane Ou
Santa Clara University
Richard Sloan
University of Michigan
Lenny Soffer
Northwestern University
Greg Sommers
Southern Methodist University
Theodore Sougiannis
University of Illinois
Thomas Stober
University of Notre Dame
K. R. Subramanyan
University of Southern California
Gary Taylor
University of Alabama
Mark Trombley
University of Arizona
James Wahlen
Indiana University
Scott Whisenant
University of Houston
Stephen H. Penman
Columbia University
Brief Contents
List of Cases xxiii
List of Accounting Clinics xxiv
1
Introduction to Investing and
Valuation 2
2
Introduction to the Financial
Statements 32
PART ONE
Financial Statements and Valuation 72
3
How Financial Statements Are Used in
Valuation 74
4
Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and
Discounted Cash Flow Valuation 114
5
Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing
Book Values 148
6
Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing
Earnings 192
PART THREE
Forecasting and Valuation Analysis 438
13 The Value of Operations and the
Evaluation of Enterprise Price-to-Book
Ratios and Price-Earnings Ratios 440
14 Anchoring on the Financial Statements:
Simple Forecasting and Simple
Valuation 486
15 Full-Information Forecasting, Valuation,
and Business Strategy Analysis 522
PART FOUR
Accounting Analysis and Valuation 568
16 Creating Accounting Value and Economic
Value 570
17 Analysis of the Quality of Financial
Statements 606
PART FIVE
PART TWO
The Analysis of Financial Statements 230
7
Viewing the Business Through the
Financial Statements 232
8
The Analysis of the Statement of
Shareholders’ Equity 256
9
The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and
Income Statement 290
10 The Analysis of the Cash Flow
Statement 340
The Analysis of Risk and Return 656
18 The Analysis of Equity Risk and
Return 658
19 The Analysis of Credit Risk and
Return 696
APPENDIX
A Summary of Formulas 723
INDEX 740
11 The Analysis of Profitability 362
12 The Analysis of Growth and Sustainable
Earnings 392
xv
Contents
List of Cases xxiii
List of Accounting Clinics xxiv
Chapter 1
Introduction to Investing and Valuation 2
Investment Styles and Fundamental Analysis 3
Bubble, Bubble 6
Measurement in the Financial Statements 41
The Price-to-Book Ratio 42
Measurement in the Balance Sheet 44
Measurement in the Income Statement 44
The Price-Earnings Ratio 49
The Reliability Criterion: Don’t Mix
What You Know with Speculation 49
Tension in Accounting 51
How Bubbles Work 7
Analysts During the Bubble 8
Fundamental Analysis Anchors Investors 8
The Setting: Investors, Firms, Securities, and
Capital Markets 8
The Business of Analysis: The Professional
Analyst 12
Investing in Firms: The Outside Analyst 12
Investing within Firms: The Inside Analyst 13
The Analysis of Business 14
Strategy and Valuation 14
Mastering the Details 15
The Key Question: Sustainability of Competitive
Advantage 17
Financial Statements: The Lens on the
Business 17
Choosing a Valuation Technology 17
Guiding Principles 18
Anchoring Value in the Financial Statements 20
How to Use This Book 21
Chapter 2
Introduction to the Financial
Statements 32
The Analyst’s Checklist 33
The Form of the Financial Statements 33
The Balance Sheet 34
The Income Statement 34
xvi
Summary 52
The Web Connection 53
Key Concepts 53
The Analyst’s Toolkit 54
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Concept Questions 60
Exercises 61
Minicase 66
PART ONE
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
AND VALUATION 72
Chapter 3
How Financial Statements Are
Used in Valuation 74
An Outline of the Book 21
The Web Connection 22
Key Concepts 22
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Concept Questions 27
Exercises 29
Minicase 31
The Cash Flow Statement 38
The Statement of Stockholders’ Equity 39
The Footnotes and Supplementary Information
to Financial Statements 40
The Articulation of the Financial Statements:
How the Statements Tell a Story 40
23
The Analyst’s Checklist 75
Multiple Analysis 76
The Method of Comparables 76
Screening on Multiples 79
Asset-Based Valuation 82
Fundamental Analysis 84
The Process of Fundamental Analysis 85
Financial Statement Analysis, Pro Forma
Analysis, and Fundamental Analysis 86
The Architecture of Fundamental Analysis:
The Valuation Model 88
Terminal Investments and Going-Concern
Investments 89
55
Contents xvii
Valuation Models for Terminal Investments 90
Valuation Models for Going-Concern
Investments 92
Criteria for a Practical Valuation Model 92
What Generates Value? 93
Valuation Models and Asset Pricing Models 97
Summary 97
The Web Connection 98
Key Concepts 98
The Analyst’s Toolkit 99
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark
Corporation 100
Concept Questions 101
Exercises 101
Minicases 105
Appendix The Required Return and Asset Pricing
Models 110
Valuing a Project 150
Valuing a Savings Account 151
The Normal Price-to-Book Ratio 152
A Model for Anchoring Value on Book Value 153
Residual Earnings Drivers and Value
Creation 156
A Simple Demonstration and a Simple
Valuation Model 158
Applying the Model to Equities 160
The Forecast Horizon and the Continuing Value
Calculation 161
Target Prices 164
Converting Analysts’ Forecasts
to a Valuation 165
Chapter 4
Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and
Discounted Cash Flow Valuation 114
The Analyst’s Checklist 115
The Dividend Discount Model 116
The Discounted Cash Flow Model 118
Free Cash Flow and Value Added 121
Simple Valuation Models 123
The Statement of Cash Flows 124
The Cash Flow Statement under IFRS 126
Forecasting Free Cash Flows 127
Cash Flow, Earnings, and Accrual Accounting 128
Earnings and Cash Flows 128
Accruals, Investments, and the Balance
Sheet 132
Summary 135
The Web Connection 136
Key Concepts 136
The Analyst’s Toolkit 137
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Concept Questions 138
Exercises 139
Minicases 144
Prototype Valuations 150
Applying the Model to Projects and
Strategies 166
Features of the Residual Earnings
Model 168
Book Value Captures Value and Residual
Earnings Captures Value Added to
Book Value 169
Protection from Paying Too Much for Earnings
Generated by Investment 170
Protection from Paying Too Much for Earnings
Created by the Accounting 171
Capturing Value Not on the Balance Sheet—
for All Accounting Methods 172
Residual Earnings Are Not Affected by
Dividends, Share Issues, or Share
Repurchases 172
What the Residual Earnings Model Misses 173
Reverse Engineering the Model for Active
Investing 173
137
Chapter 5
Accrual Accounting and Valuation:
Pricing Book Values 148
The Analyst’s Checklist 149
The Concept Behind the Price-to-Book Ratio 149
Beware of Paying Too Much for Earnings 150
Reverse Engineering the S&P 500 176
Using Analysts’ Forecasts in Reverse
Engineering 176
Implied Earnings Forecasts and Earnings
Growth Rates 177
Separating Speculation from What We Know: Value
Building Blocks 177
The Web Connection 180
Summary 180
Key Concepts 181
The Analyst’s Toolkit 181
A Continuing Case: KimberlyClark Corporation 182
Concept Questions 183
Exercises 183
Minicases 189
xviii Contents
Chapter 6
Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing
Earnings 192
The Analyst’s Checklist 193
The Concept Behind the Price-Earnings Ratio 193
Beware of Paying Too Much for Earnings
Growth 194
From Price-to-Book Valuation to P/E
Valuation 194
THE ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS 230
Chapter 7
Viewing the Business Through the Financial
Statements 232
The Analyst’s Checklist 233
Business Activities: The Cash Flows 234
Prototype Valuation 195
The Reformulated Cash Flow Statement 238
The Reformulated Balance Sheet 239
The Normal Forward P/E Ratio 197
The Normal Trailing P/E Ratio 198
A Poor P/E Model 199
Business Activities: All Stocks and Flows 240
The Reformulated Income Statement 241
A Model for Anchoring Value on Earnings 199
Measuring Abnormal Earnings Growth 201
A Simple Demonstration and a Simple
Valuation Model 202
Anchoring Valuation on Current Earnings 203
Applying the Model to Equities 204
Converting Analysts’ Forecasts to
a Valuation 205
Features of the Abnormal Earnings Growth Model 206
Buy Earnings 207
Abnormal Earnings Growth Valuation and
Residual Earnings Valuation 207
Abnormal Earnings Growth Is Not Affected by
Dividends, Share Issues, or Share
Repurchases 209
Accounting Methods and Valuation 209
Reverse Engineering the Model for
Active Investing 211
Reverse Engineering the S&P 500 212
Using Analysts’ Forecasts in Reverse
Engineering 212
Implied Earnings Forecasts and Earning
Growth Rates 213
Accounting Relations that Govern Reformulated
Statements 241
The Sources of Free Cash Flow and
the Disposition of Free Cash Flow 242
The Drivers of Dividends 242
The Drivers of Net Operating Assets and Net
Indebtedness 243
Tying It Together for Shareholders:
What Generates Value? 244
Stocks and Flows Ratios: Business Profitability 246
Summary 248
The Web Connection 249
Key Concepts 249
The Analyst’s Toolkit 250
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation 250
Concept Questions 251
Exercises 252
Chapter 8
The Analysis of the Statement of
Shareholders’ Equity 256
Separating Speculation from What We Know: Value
Building Blocks 213
P/E Screening 214
The Analyst’s Checklist 257
Reformulating the Statement of Owners’ Equity 257
Introducing Nike 258
Reformulation Procedures 258
Dirty-Surplus Accounting 262
Screening on Earnings Yield 214
Screening on PEG Ratios 216
Summary 217
The Web Connection 218
Key Concepts 218
The Analyst’s Toolkit 218
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Concept Questions 220
Exercises 220
Minicases 226
PART TWO
Comprehensive Income Reporting under U.S.
GAAP and IFRS 263
Ratio Analysis 264
219
Payout and Retention Ratios 264
Shareholder Profitability 265
Growth Ratios 265
Hidden Dirty Surplus 266
Issue of Shares in Operations 266
Issue of Shares in Financing Activities 270
Contents xix
Handling Diluted Earnings per Share 270
Share Transactions in Inefficient Markets 272
The Eye of the Shareholder 274
Accounting Quality Watch 275
The Web Connection 275
Summary 276
Key Concepts 276
The Analyst’s Toolkit 277
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Concept Questions 278
Exercises 279
Minicase 285
278
Chapter 9
The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and
Income Statement 290
The Analyst’s Checklist 291
Reformulation of the Balance Sheet 291
Issues in Reformulating Balance Sheets 292
Strategic Balance Sheets 299
Reformulation of the Income Statement 301
Tax Allocation 302
Issues in Reformulating Income Statements 306
Value Added to Strategic Balance Sheets 309
Comparative Analysis of the Balance Sheet
and Income Statement 312
Common-Size Analysis 312
Trend Analysis 314
Ratio Analysis 316
Summary 318
The Web Connection 320
Key Concepts 320
The Analyst’s Toolkit 321
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark
Corporation 322
Concept Questions 323
Exercises 323
Minicases 332
Chapter 10
TheAnalysisoftheCashFlowStatement 340
The Analyst’s Checklist 341
The Calculation of Free Cash Flow 341
GAAP Statement of Cash Flows and Reformulated
Cash Flow Statements 343
Reclassifying Cash Transactions 344
Tying It Together 349
Cash Flow from Operations 350
Summary 353
The Web Connection 353
Key Concepts 354
The Analyst’s Toolkit 354
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Concept Questions 355
Exercises 355
Minicase 360
354
Chapter 11
The Analysis of Profitability 362
The Analyst’s Checklist 363
The Analysis of Return on Common Equity 363
First-Level Breakdown: Distinguishing Financing
and Operating Activities and the Effect of
Leverage 364
Financial Leverage 364
Operating Liability Leverage 366
Summing Financial Leverage and Operating
Liability Leverage Effects on Shareholder
Profitability 368
Return on Net Operating Assets and Return
on Assets 369
Financial Leverage and Debt-to-Equity
Ratios 371
Second-Level Breakdown: Drivers
of Operating Profitability 371
Third-Level Breakdown 374
Profit Margin Drivers 374
Turnover Drivers 374
Borrowing Cost Drivers 377
The Web Connection 379
Summary 379
Key Concepts 379
The Analyst’s Toolkit 380
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation 380
Concept Questions 381
Exercises 382
Minicase 390
Chapter 12
The Analysis of Growth and Sustainable
Earnings 392
The Analyst’s Checklist 393
What Is Growth? 393
Cutting to the Core: Sustainable Earnings 394
Core Operating Income 395
Issues in Identifying Core Operating
Income 398
xx
Contents
Core Operating Profitability
Core Borrowing Cost 407
405
Analysis of Growth 407
Growth Through Profitability 407
Operating Leverage 409
Analysis of Changes in Financing 410
Analysis of Growth in Shareholders’ Equity 411
Growth, Sustainable Earnings, and the Evaluation
of P/B Ratios and P/E Ratios 412
How Price-to-Book Ratios and Trailing P/E
Ratios Articulate 412
Trailing Price-Earnings Ratios and Growth 415
Trailing Price-Earnings Ratios and Transitory
Earnings 416
P/E Ratios and the Analysis of Sustainable
Earnings 417
Summary 418
The Web Connection 419
Key Concepts 419
The Analyst’s Toolkit 420
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation 420
Concept Questions 421
Exercises 422
Minicases 428
PART THREE
FORECASTING AND VALUATION
ANALYSIS 438
Chapter 13
The Value of Operations and the Evaluation
of Enterprise Price-to-Book Ratios and
Price-Earnings Ratios 440
The Analyst’s Checklist 441
A Modification to Residual Earnings Forecasting:
Residual Operating Income 442
The Drivers of Residual Operating Income 445
A Modification to Abnormal Earnings Growth
Forecasting: Abnormal Growth in Operating
Income 447
Abnormal Growth in Operating Income and the
“Dividend” from Operating Activities 447
The Cost of Capital and Valuation 449
The Cost of Capital for Operations 450
The Cost of Capital for Debt 451
Operating Risk, Financing Risk, and the
Cost of Equity Capital 452
Financing Risk and Return and the Valuation
of Equity 453
Leverage and Residual Earnings Valuation 453
Leverage and Abnormal Earnings Growth
Valuation 455
Leverage Creates Earnings Growth 460
Debt and Taxes 463
Mark-to-Market Accounting: A Tool for Incorporating
the Cost of Stock Options in Valuation 464
Enterprise Multiples 466
Enterprise Price-to-Book Ratios 467
Enterprise Price-Earnings Ratios 468
Summary 472
The Web Connection 472
Key Concepts 473
The Analyst’s Toolkit 473
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation 474
Concept Questions 476
Exercises 477
Minicase 483
Chapter 14
Anchoring on the Financial Statements:
Simple Forecasting and Simple
Valuation 486
The Analyst’s Checklist 487
Simple Forecasts and Simple Valuations
from Financial Statements 488
Forecasting from Book Values:
SF1 Forecasts 488
Forecasting from Earnings and Book Values:
SF2 Forecasts 490
Forecasting from Accounting Rates of Return:
SF3 Forecasts 493
Simple Forecasting: Adding Information to Financial
Statement Information 498
Weighed-Average Forecasts of Profitability
and Growth 499
Growth in Sales as a Simple Forecast
of Growth 499
The Applicability of Simple Valuations 500
Simple Valuations with Short-Term
and Long-Term Growth Rates 503
Simple Valuation as an Analysis Tool 503
Reverse Engineering 503
Enhanced Stock Screening 505
Sensitivity Analysis 505
Summary 506
The Web Connection 507
Key Concepts 508
The Analyst’s Toolkit 508
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Concept Questions 509
508
Contents xxi
Exercises 510
Minicases 516
Chapter 15
Full-Information Forecasting, Valuation, and
Business Strategy Analysis 522
The Analyst’s Checklist 523
Financial Statement Analysis: Focusing the Lens
on the Business 524
1. Focus on Residual Operating Income and Its
Drivers 524
2. Focus on Change 525
3. Focus on Key Drivers 531
4. Focus on Choices versus Conditions 534
Full-Information Forecasting and Pro Forma
Analysis 535
A Forecasting Template 538
Features of Accounting-Based Valuation 543
Value Generated in Share Transactions 545
Mergers and Acquisitions 545
Share Repurchases and Buyouts 546
Financial Statement Indicators and Red Flags 547
Business Strategy Analysis and Pro Forma
Analysis 547
Unarticulated Strategy 549
Scenario Analysis 550
The Web Connection 550
Summary 550
Key Concepts 551
The Analyst’s Toolkit 552
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Concept Questions 553
Exercises 554
Minicases 561
PART FOUR
ACCOUNTING ANALYSIS
AND VALUATION 568
Chapter 16
Creating Accounting Value and
Economic Value 570
The Analyst’s Checklist 571
Value Creation and the Creation of Residual
Earnings 571
Accounting Methods, Price-to-Book Ratios,
Price-Earnings Ratios, and the Valuation
of Going Concerns 574
Accounting Methods with a Constant Level
of Investment 574
Accounting Methods with a Changing Level
of Investment 577
An Exception: LIFO Accounting 581
Hidden Reserves and the Creation
of Earnings 582
Conservative and Liberal Accounting
in Practice 586
LIFO versus FIFO 587
Research and Development in
the Pharmaceuticals Industry 588
Expensing Goodwill and Research
and Development Expenditures 589
Liberal Accounting: Breweries and Hotels 590
Profitability in the 1990s 590
Economic-Value-Added Measures 591
Accounting Methods and the Forecast
Horizon 591
The Quality of Cash Accounting and Discounted
Cash Flow Analysis 592
Summary 594
The Web Connection 594
Key Concepts 595
The Analyst’s Toolkit 595
Concept Questions 596
Exercises 596
Minicase 601
Chapter 17
Analysis of the Quality of Financial
Statements 606
552
The Analyst’s Checklist 607
What Is Accounting Quality? 607
Accounting Quality Watch 608
Five Questions About Accounting Quality 609
Cutting Through the Accounting:
Detecting Income Shifting 610
Separating What We Know from
Speculation 613
Prelude to a Quality Analysis 614
Quality Diagnostics 616
Diagnostics to Detect Manipulated Sales 619
Diagnostics to Detect Manipulation of Core
Expenses 621
Diagnostics to Detect Manipulation of Unusual
Items 627
Detecting Transaction Manipulation 629
Core Revenue Timing 629
Core Revenue Structuring 629
Core Expense Timing 630
Releasing Hidden Reserves 630
xxii
Contents
Other Core Income Timing 631
Unusual Income Timing 631
Organizational Manipulation: Off-BalanceSheet Operations 631
Justifiable Manipulation? 632
Disclosure Quality 632
Quality Scoring 633
Abnormal Returns to Quality Analysis 635
Summary 636
The Web Connection 636
Key Concepts 636
The Analyst’s Toolkit 637
Concept Questions 638
Exercises 639
Minicases 648
PART FIVE
THE ANALYSIS OF RISK
AND RETURN 656
Chapter 18
The Analysis of Equity Risk and Return 658
The Analyst’s Checklist 659
The Required Return and the Expected Return 659
The Nature of Risk 660
The Distribution of Returns 660
Diversification and Risk 664
Asset Pricing Models 665
Fundamental Risk 667
Return on Common Equity Risk 669
Growth Risk 670
Value-at-Risk Profiling 670
Adaptation Options and Growth
Options 675
Strategy and Risk 676
Discounting for Risk 676
Fundamental Betas 677
Price Risk 678
Market Inefficiency Risk 678
Liquidity Risk 681
Inferring Expected Returns from Market Prices 681
Finessing the Required Return Problem 683
Evaluating Implied Expected Returns with
Value-at-Risk Profiles 683
Enhanced Screening and Pairs Trading 683
Relative Value Analysis: Evaluating Firms within
Risk Classes 683
Conservative and Optimistic Forecasting
and the Margin of Safety 685
Beware of Paying for Risky Growth 686
Expected Returns in Uncertain Times 686
Summary 687
The Web Connection 687
Key Concepts 687
The Analyst’s Toolkit 688
Concept Questions 688
Exercises 689
Chapter 19
The Analysis of Credit Risk
and Return 696
The Analyst’s Checklist 697
The Suppliers of Credit 697
Financial Statement Analysis for Credit
Evaluation 698
Reformulated Financial Statements 698
Short-Term Liquidity Ratios 700
Long-Term Solvency Ratios 702
Operating Ratios 703
Forecasting and Credit Analysis 703
Prelude to Forecasting: The Interpretive
Background 703
Ratio Analysis and Credit-Scoring 704
Full-Information Forecasting 708
Required Return, Expected Return, and Active
Debt Investing 711
Liquidity Planning and Financial
Strategy 712
The Web Connection 713
Summary 713
Key Concepts 713
The Analyst’s Toolkit 714
Concept Questions 714
Exercises 715
Minicase 719
Appendix
A Summary of Formulas 723
Index 740
List of Cases
Critique of an EquityAnalysis:America Online Inc. 31
Reviewing the Financial Statements of Nike, Inc. 66
An Arbitrage Opportunity? Cordant Technologies and
Howmet International 105
Nifty Stocks? Returns to Stock Screening 106
Attempting Asset-Based Valuations: Weyerhaeuser
Company 107
Discounted Cash Flow Valuation: Coca-Cola Company
and Home Depot, Inc. 144
Forecasting from Traded Price-to-Book Ratios:
Cisco Systems, Inc. 189
Analysts’ Forecasts and Valuation: PepsiCo and
Coca-Cola 190
Kimberly-Clark: Buy Its Paper? 190
Forecasting from Traded Price-Earnings Ratios:
Cisco Systems, Inc. 226
Analysts’ Forecasts and Valuation: PepsiCo and
Coca-Cola 227
Reverse Engineering Google: How Do I Understand
the Market’s Expectations? 227
Analysis of the Equity Statement, Hidden Losses,
and Off-Balance-Sheet Liabilities: Microsoft
Corporation 285
Financial Statement Analysis: Procter &
Gamble I 332
Understanding the Business Through Reformulated
Financial Statements: Chubb Corporation 336
Analysis of Cash Flows: Dell, Inc. 360
Financial Statement Analysis: Procter &
Gamble II 390
Financial Statement Analysis: Procter &
Gamble III 428
A Question of Growth: Microsoft Corporation 429
Analysis of Sustainable Growth: International Business
Machines 432
Valuing the Operations and the Investments of a
Property and Casualty Insurer: Chubb
Corporation 483
Simple Forecasting and Valuation: Procter &
Gamble IV 516
Simple Valuation and Reverse Engineering for Cisco
Systems, Inc. 516
Full Forecasting and Valuation: Procter &
Gamble V 561
A Comprehensive Valuation to Challenge the Stock
Price of Dell, Inc. 561
The Battle for Maytag: An Analysis of a
Takeover 565
Advertising, Low Quality Accounting, and Valuation:
E*Trade 601
A Quality Analysis: Xerox Corporation 648
A Quality Analysis: Lucent Technologies 652
Analysis of Default Risk: Fruit of the Loom 719
xxiii
List of Accounting Clinics
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
xxiv
Basic Accounting Principles 50
How Accrual Accounting Works 131
Accounting for Marketable Securities 264
Accounting for Stock Compensation 269
Accounting for Equity Investments and Accounting for Business Combinations 295
Accounting for Income Taxes 305
Accounting for Pensions 401
Financial Statement
Analysis and
Security Valuation
Chapter One
Introduction to
Investing and Valuation
LINKS
This chapter
This chapter introduces
investing and the role
of fundamental
analysis in investing.
Link to next chapter
Who invests in
firms and what
analysis do they
need?
How is
fundamental
investing
different
from other
investment
styles?
What is the role
of the
professional
analyst?
How are
business analysis
and financial
statement
analysis
connected?
Chapter 2 introduces the
financial statements that
are used in fundamental
analysis.
Link to Web page
Go to the book's Web site
for this chapter at
http://www.mhhe.com/
penman4e. It explains
how to find your way
around the site and gives
you more of the flavor of
using financial statement
analysis in investing.
Financial statements are the primary information that firms publish about themselves, and
investors are the primary users of financial statements. Firms seek capital from investors
and prepare financial statements to help investors decide whether to invest. Investors expect
the firm to add value to their investment—to return more than was invested—and read financial statements to evaluate the firm’s ability to do so. Financial statements are also used
for other purposes. Governments use them in social and economic policy-making. Regulators such as the antitrust authorities, financial market regulators, and bank inspectors use
them to control business activity. Employees use them in wage negotiations. Senior managers use them to evaluate subordinates. Courts, and the expert witnesses who testify in
court, use financial statements to assess damages in litigation.
Each type of user needs to understand financial statements. Each needs to know the
statements’ deficiencies, what they reveal, and what they don’t reveal. Financial statement
analysis is the method by which users extract information to answer their questions about
the firm.
This book presents the principles of financial statement analysis, with a focus on the
investor. Many types of investment are entertained. Buying a firm’s equity—its common
stock—is one, and the book has a particular focus on the shareholder and prospective
shareholder. Buying a firm’s debt—its bonds—is another. The shareholder is concerned
with profitability, the bondholder with default, and financial statement analysis aids in evaluating both. Banks making loans to firms are investors, and they are concerned with
default. Firms themselves are also investors when they consider strategies to acquire other
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation 3
firms, go into a new line of business, spin off a division or restructure, or indeed acquire or
disinvest in an asset of any form. In all cases financial statements must be analyzed to make
a sound decision.
In market economies, most firms are organized to make money (or “create value”) for
their owners. So financial statements are prepared primarily with shareholders’ investment
in mind: The statements are formally presented to shareholders at annual meetings and the
main numbers they report are earnings (for the owners) in the income statement and the
book value of owners’ equity in the balance sheet. But much of the financial statement
analysis for investors is relevant to other parties. The shareholder is concerned with profitability. But governmental regulators, suppliers, the firms’ competitors, and employees are
concerned with profitability also. Shareholders and bondholders are concerned with the
riskiness of the business, but so are suppliers and employees. And securities litigation,
which involves expert witnesses, usually deals with compensation for loss of profits—or
loss of value—to investors. Thus much of the financial statement analysis in this book is
relevant to these users as well.
Investors typically invest in a firm by buying equity shares or the firm’s debt. Their primary concern is the amount to pay—the value of the shares or the debt. The analysis of information that focuses on valuation is called valuation analysis, fundamental analysis,
or, when securities like stocks and bonds are involved, security analysis. This book develops the principles of fundamental analysis. And it shows how financial statement analysis
is used in fundamental analysis.
In this chapter we set the stage.
INVESTMENT STYLES AND FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS
Millions of shares of business firms are traded every day on the world’s stock markets. The
investors who buy and sell these shares ask themselves: Am I trading at the right price?
What are the shares really worth? They attempt to answer these questions while a discordant
background chorus—the printed press, “talking heads” on television financial networks,
and Internet chatrooms—voices opinions about what the price should be. They turn to investment advisers who provide an almost endless stream of information and recommendations to sort out. They hear claims that some shares are overpriced, some underpriced, and
they hear theories that stock markets can be caught up in the fads and fashions—even
mania—that are said to drive share prices away from their appropriate values.
In the absence of any clear indication of what stocks are worth, investors cope in different ways. Some—intuitive investors—rely on their own instincts. They go on hunches.
Some—called passive investors—throw up their hands and trust in “market efficiency.”
They assume that the market price is a fair price for the risk taken, that market forces have
driven the price to the appropriate point.
These investment styles are simple and don’t require much effort. But both types of investors run risks beyond those inherent in the firms they buy: Paying too much or selling
for too little damages investment returns. The intuitive investor has the problem of the intuitive bridge builder: One may be pleased with one’s intuition but, before building gets
under way, it might pay to check that intuition against the calculations prescribed by modern engineering. Not doing so might lead to disaster. The passive investor is in danger if
stocks are mispriced. It is tempting to trust, as a matter of faith, that the market is efficient,
and much economic theory says it should be. But it is good practice to check. Both types
of investors run the risk of trading with someone who has “done his homework,” someone
who has analyzed the information thoroughly.
4
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation
Consider the following:
Dell, Inc., the leading manufacturer of personal computers, reported earnings for fiscal year
2000 of $1.7 billion on sales of $25.3 billion. At the time, the total market value of Dell’s
shares was $146.4 billion, over three times the combined market value for General Motors
Corporation and Ford Motor Company, the large U.S. automobile manufacturers with combined sales of $313.5 billion and combined earnings of $13.144 billion. Dell’s shares traded at
an earnings multiple of 87.9—its price-earnings (P/E) ratio—compared with a P/E of 8.5 for
General Motors and 5.0 for Ford.
General Motors and Ford have had their problems. Dell has been a very successful
operation with innovative production, “direct marketing,” and a made-to-order inventory
system. The intuitive investor might identify Dell as a good company and feel confident
about buying it. But at 88 times earnings? The P/E ratio for the Standard & Poor’s Index
(S&P 500) stocks at the time was 33 (very high compared to the historical average of 16),
and microcomputer stocks as a whole traded at 40 times earnings. To pay 88 times earnings
seems expensive. The intuitive investor should recognize that good companies might be
overpriced, good companies but bad buys. He might be advised to check the price with
some analysis. The passive investor believes that both companies are appropriately priced
and ignores the P/E ratios. But with such an extraordinary P/E, she might be advised to
check her beliefs. She is at risk of paying too much. As it turned out, Dell’s per-share stock
price declined from $58 in 2000 to $29 in 2003, a loss of 50 percent. By 2008, Dell was
trading at $20 per share.
The risk of incurring such a loss can be reduced by thoroughly examining information
about firms and reaching conclusions about the underlying value that the information implies. This is fundamental analysis and the investor who relies on fundamental analysis is a
fundamental investor. Fundamental investors ask: Is a P/E of 88 for Dell too expensive? To
answer, they make a calculation of what P/E is reasonable given the available information
about Dell. They ask: What multiple of earnings is Dell really worth? They also ask whether
the P/E ratios for General Motors and Ford are too low. Should they sell Dell and buy Ford?
Fundamental investors distinguish price from value. The creed they follow is “price is what
you pay, but value is what you get.” They “inspect the goods” as a buyer does with any purchase. Of course, in one sense price is value, for it is the value that other traders put on the
shares. You could well be cynical about financial analysis and accept price as value. But the
fundamental analyst sees price as the cost of the investment, not its value. Oscar Wilde’s observation is to the point: “Cynics know the cost of everything, and the value of nothing.”
“What you get” from the investment is future payoffs, so the fundamental investor evaluates likely payoffs to ascertain whether the asking price is a reasonable one. The defensive
investor does this as a matter of prudence, to avoid trading at the wrong price. The active
investor uses fundamental analysis to discover mispriced stocks that might earn exceptional rates of return. Box 1.1 contrasts passive and active investors in more technical terms
used by investment advisers.
Fundamental investors speak of discovering intrinsic values, warranted values, or fundamental values. Intrinsic value is the worth of an investment that is justified by the information about its payoffs. But this term should not be taken to imply precision. Unlike bridge
engineering, fundamental analysis does not take away all uncertainty. It offers principles
which, followed faithfully, reduce uncertainty. The analysis in this book develops these principles in a deliberate, systematic way so investors have the security that their investment decisions are sound, intelligent ones. The analysis highlights how errors can be made by following simplistic approaches, and how value can be lost by ignoring basic principles.
Passive Investing, Active Investing, and Risk
Investors buy gambles. They buy a chance to earn a high
return against the chance of losing their investment. Passive
and active investors differ in their approaches to handling
this risk.
Passive investors see risk in business operations delivering
less value than expected. They understand that there is a
chance that firms’ sales will be less than anticipated, that profits from sales will not materialize. But passive investors trust
that this fundamental risk is efficiently priced in the market.
The passive investor realizes, however, that risk can be
reduced by diversification and that the market will not reward
risk that can be eliminated through diversification. So she
holds a diversified portfolio of investments to deal with risk.
But, once diversified, the passive investor believes that she is
price-protected, with higher risk investments efficiently priced
to yield higher expected returns. All she desires from an analyst is information about the level of risk she is taking on,
sometimes referred to as beta risk. She buys betas, and quantitative analysts supply these risk measures using models like
the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and variants—
so-called beta technologies. No doubt you have been exposed
to these models in finance courses.
Active fundamental investors see another source of risk,
the risk of paying too much (or selling for too little). That is,
they are concerned that securities are not efficiently priced.
They see price risk in addition to the inherent fundamental
risk in business operations. So they carry out an analysis to
challenge the market price. Like those who supply betas, they
design technologies to do this, sometimes referred to as alpha
technologies to differentiate them from beta technologies. It
is these technologies with which this book is concerned.
Active fundamental investors see a reward in this endeavor,
for they see the possibility of identifying stocks that can earn
abnormal returns—higher expected returns than those implied by beta risk. Indeed, the trade term for these abnormal
returns is alphas (in contrast to betas), and alpha technologies are brought to bear to predict alphas.
Index investing is an extreme form of passive investing.
The index investor buys the market portfolio of stocks or a
portfolio like the S&P 500 Index, which closely resembles the
market. The market portfolio provides the ultimate diversification, so the investor does not even have to know the beta.
The investor does not have to think about anything, and
transaction costs are low. However, the index investor is in
danger of paying too much. Consider the returns (including
dividends) for the S&P 500 for the years 1998–2008 here,
along with the P/E ratios for the index at December 31 of
each year. The index investor did very well in the bull market
of the 1990s, with the returns for 1998 and 1999 following
1.1
a string of high annual returns. Her subsequent experience
was a little painful, for the average annual return on the
S&P 500 over the years 2000–2005 was –1 percent and more
negative through 2008. Compare this with the annual return
on intermediate-term government bonds of 6 percent.
However, the index investor rides out the market, in the belief that stocks are “for the long run”; the historical average
annual return to stocks has been 12.3 percent, compared
with 6 percent for corporate bonds, and 3.5 percent for
Treasury bills.
S&P 500 Returns
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
28.6%
21.0
–9.1
–11.9
–22.1
28.7
10.9
4.9
15.8
5.5
–38.5
S&P 500 P/E Ratio
32.6
30.5
26.4
46.5
31.9
22.8
20.7
17.9
17.4
19.8
16.6
The fundamental investor recognizes these statistical
averages but appreciates that these returns are not guaranteed. He also notes another statistic: The historical average
P/E ratio for the S&P 500 is 16. P/E ratios over 30 suggest
that stocks are too expensive. However, the fundamental investor then begins an investigation as to whether times have
changed, whether higher P/E ratios are now justified. Further,
rather than holding all of the stocks in the index, he differentiates between those stocks he feels are undervalued in
the market, those he thinks are efficiently priced, and those
he thinks are overvalued. The indexer’s action is HOLD; the
active investor expands his action alternatives to BUY, HOLD,
or SELL.
It is easy, with hindsight, to say that selling stocks at the
end of 1999 would have been a good idea. The appropriate
question is whether an analysis in 1999 would have indicated so in advance. The passive investor is skeptical. She
points to the fact that active investment funds typically do
not perform much better than the S&P 500 Index, net of
costs of running the funds. The fundamentalist replies: If no
one does fundamental research, how can the market become efficient?
5
6
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation
Information is gold to the investor, so much of the book explains how the analyst identifies the appropriate information and organizes it in a way to indicate intrinsic value. Organizing the accounting information—financial statement analysis—is of particular importance. The analyst does not want to be overwhelmed by the huge amount of information
available on firms and so looks for efficient ways of organizing the information, of reducing it to manageable proportions. He desires simple, straightforward schemes but is wary
of ad hoc schemes that are too simple. A simple (and popular) scheme says “buy firms with
low P/E ratios and sell firms with high P/E ratios” for price relative to earnings is supposed
to tell us how cheap or expensive those earnings are. Selling Dell, with a high P/E in 2000,
would have worked. But buying General Motors or Ford, with low P/E ratios of 8.5 and 5.0,
respectively, would not; General Motors’ stock declined from $80 per share in 2000 to $4
in 2008, and Ford’s declined from $29 to $3 over the same period. The thorough analyst
understands that using just one piece of information—earnings here—runs the danger of
paying too much; other important information is involved in determining whether a low
P/E ratio is justified or, indeed, represents an overpricing rather than an underpricing.
Rather than comparing price to earnings, he compares price to value implied by the complete set of information.
Traders in securities are not alone in valuing investments. Within firms, managers daily
make investment decisions. They too must ask whether the value of the investment is
greater than its cost. And they too, as we will see, must forecast payoffs to ascertain this
value.
BUBBLE, BUBBLE
Much is at stake in valuing securities correctly. Trillions of dollars were invested in stock
markets around the world in the 1990s. By the end of the decade, nearly 50 percent of
adults in the United States held equity shares, either directly or through retirement
accounts. In the United Kingdom, this figure was 25 percent, in Germany, 15 percent, and
in France, 13 percent. These numbers were up considerably from 10 years earlier. Stock
markets in Asia and the Pacific also became very active. Firms in Europe and Asia that once
went to banks for capital began raising funds through public stock markets. An equity culture was emerging where firms traded more and more with individual equity investors or
their intermediaries. Unfortunately, the growing equity culture was not matched with a
growing understanding of how to value stocks. Trillions of dollars were lost as a stock market bubble burst and investors found their savings shrunk significantly.
The experience repeated that of a decade earlier in Japan. On December 29, 1989, the
Nikkei 225 Index of Japanese stocks soared to a high of 38,957, a 238 percent gain over a
five-year period. Twelve years later in 2001, the Nikkei 225 fell below 10,000 for a loss of
over 75 percent from the 1989 high. By 2005, the index had recovered to only 11,800. The
stock prices of the 1980s were a bubble, and the bubble burst. The repercussions in Japan
were long-term. Some claim that equity investing is rewarded in the long run, but the long
run was a long time running. On March 10, 2000, the NASDAQ Composite Index in the
United States peaked at 5,060, up 574 percent from the beginning of 1995. By mid-2002,
the index was below 1,400, down 75 percent from the high, and was still only at 1,500 in
2008. The S&P 500 Index was down 45 percent and the London FTSE 100 and the Eurotop 300 had lost more than 40 percent. Again, a bubble had burst, leaving investors to wonder how long the long run would be. We are reminded that the Dow Index did not recover
its 1929 euphoric level until 1954. During the 1970s, after the bull market of the late 1960s,
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation 7
the Dow stocks returned only 4.8 percent over 10 years and ended the decade down
13.5 percent from their 1960s high.
In January 2000, prior to the bursting of the bubble, Alan Greenspan, chairman of the U.S.
Federal Reserve Bank, expressed concern. He asked whether the boom would be remembered as “one of the many euphoric speculative bubbles that have dotted human history.” In
1999 he said, “History tells us that sharp reversals in confidence happen abruptly, most often
with little advance notice. . . What is so intriguing is that this type of behavior has characterized human interaction with little appreciable difference over the generations. Whether
Dutch tulip bulbs or Russian equities, the market price patterns remain much the same.”
Indeed, while the usual reference to bubbles is to Dutch tulip bulbs in the seventeenth century or to the South Seas Bubble in the eighteenth century, there has been more recent experience. In 1972, the pricing of the technology stocks of the day—Burroughs, Digital Equipment, Polaroid, IBM, Xerox, Eastman Kodak—looked like a bubble waiting to burst. These
stocks were part of the “Nifty Fifty” stocks, deemed a “must buy,” that included Coca-Cola,
Johnson & Johnson, and McDonald’s Corporation. The average P/E ratio for the Nifty Fifty
was 37 in 1972, nothing like the P/E of over 300 for the NASDAQ 100 stocks in 2000, but
considerably above the historical average to that point of 13. The bubble did burst. The S&P
500 P/E ratio declined from 18.3 in 1972 to 7.7 by 1974. The FT 30-share index in London
(prior to the days of the FTSE 100) dropped from 543 in May 1972 to 146 in January 1975.
Stock market bubbles damage economies. People form unreasonable expectations of
likely returns and so make misguided consumption and investment decisions. Mispriced
stocks attract capital to the wrong businesses. Entrepreneurs with poor business models
raise cash too easily, deflecting it from firms that can add value for society. Investors borrow to buy paper rather than real productive assets. Debt burdens become intolerable.
Banks that feed the borrowing run into trouble. Retirement savings are lost and a pension
crisis develops. And, while we have learned something of macroeconomic management
since then, the euphoria of the late 1920s and the subsequent depression of the 1930s teach
us that systematic failure is possible. Indeed, that was the fear in the market crash of 2008.
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble.
How Bubbles Work
Bubbles work like a chain letter. You may have joined a chain letter as a teenager for fun
(and not much consequence), or as an adult trying to get enough signatures to lobby for a
good cause (hopefully with consequence). One letter writer writes to a number of people,
instructing each to send the letter on to a number of other people with the same instruction.
Letters proliferate, but ultimately the scheme collapses. If the letter involves money—each
person in the chain is paid by those joining the chain—the scheme is sometimes referred to
as a Ponzi scheme or a pyramid scheme. A few that are early in the chain make considerable
money, but most participants are left with nothing.
In a bubble, investors behave as if they are joining a chain letter. They adopt speculative
beliefs that are then fed on to other people, facilitated in recent years by talking heads in the
media, bloggers, and indeed by analysts and poor financial reporting. Each person believes
that he will benefit from more people joining the chain, by their buying the stock and pushing the price up. A bubble forms, only to burst as the speculative beliefs are not fulfilled.
The popular investing style called momentum investing has features of a chain letter.
Advocates of momentum investing advise buying stocks that have gone up, the idea being
that those stocks have momentum to continue going up more. What goes up must keep on
going up. Indeed, this happens when speculation feeds on itself as the chain letter is passed
along.
8
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation
Bubbles can work in reverse: Rather than prices becoming overinflated, they become too
depressed. During the mid-1970s, in a period of general pessimism amid oil price shocks,
the S&P 500 P/E ratio fell below 7 and its price-to-book ratio fell below 1. At the time of
writing (December 2008), during a severe credit crisis following the crash of a real estate
bubble, equity prices fell significantly. Premium Wall Street investment banks like Bear
Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and Lehman Brothers disappeared. The U.S. government bailed out
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage companies, and orchestrated a huge bailout of
toxic assets help by financial institutions. As a consequence, investors feared a prolonged
depressed market. (With you in real time, what subsequently happened?)
Analysts During the Bubble
As the renowned fundamental investor Warren Buffett observed, the boom in technology
and Internet stocks of the late 1990s was a chain letter, and investment bankers were the
“eager postmen.” He might well have added sell-side analysts (who recommend stocks to
retail investors), some of whom worked with their investment banking colleagues to push
stocks at high prices to investors. During the bubble, analysts were recommending buy,
buy, buy. In the year 2000, only 2 percent of sell-side analysts’ stock recommendations in
the United States were sells. Only after the NASDAQ index dropped 50 percent did analysts begin to issue sell recommendations. This is not very helpful. One would think that,
with such a drop in price, recommendations would tend to change from sell to buy rather
than the other way around.
To be fair to analysts, it is difficult to go against the tide of speculation. An analyst might
understand that a stock is overvalued, but overvalued stocks can go higher, fed along by the
speculation of the moment. The nature of a bubble is for prices to keep rising. So, making
a sell call may be foolish in the short run. Analysts are afraid to buck the trend. If they turn
out to be wrong when the herd is right, they look bad. If they and the herd are wrong
together, they are not penalized as much. But there are big benefits for the star analyst who
makes the correct call when the herd is wrong.
The issue calls into question what analysts do. Do they write equity research reports that
develop a valuation for a company, or do they speculate on where the stock price will go
based on crowd behavior? They might do either or both. However, they should always
justify their position with good thinking. Unfortunately, during the 1990s bubble, many
analysts promoted poor thinking. They fed the speculation. See Box 1.2.
Fundamental Analysis Anchors Investors
Fundamental analysis cuts through the poor thinking (like that in Box 1.2) that promotes
the chain letter. Fundamental analysis challenges speculative beliefs and the prices they
ferment, anchoring the investor against the tide of fad and fashion. Speculation promotes
momentum in stock prices, but fundamental analysts see gravity at work. Prices, they insist,
must gravitate to fundamentals, and the investor anchored to fundamentals has the best
prospect for the long run. See Box 1.3.
THE SETTING: INVESTORS, FIRMS,
SECURITIES, AND CAPITAL MARKETS
To value business investments we need to have a good understanding of how a business
works, how it adds value, and how it returns value to investors. We begin here to build
a picture of the firm and its investors—sketchy at first—to be filled out as the book
proceeds.
Suspect Analysis During the Bubble
When speculative fever is high, analysts are tempted to abandon good thinking and promote speculative thinking. They
may be compromised because their firms make money from
brokerage commissions, so they want analysts to promote
stock buying. Their investment banking arm may reward analysts for recommending stocks of their corporate clients. Analysts may be reluctant to make sell recommendations on the
firms they cover, in fear of being cut off from further information from those firms. Or, more likely, they may simply get
caught up in the speculative fever of the moment.
There was no shortage of speculative analysis during the
1990’s bubble, particularly in the coverage of technology,
Internet, and telecommunication stocks. Here are some examples. Understand the fallacy in each point.
• Profits were dismissed as unimportant. Most Internet
stocks reported losses, but analysts insisted at the time
that this did not matter. What was important, they said,
was the business model. Well, both are important. A firm
has to make profits and, even though it may have losses
currently, there must be reasonable scenarios for earning
profits. See Box 1.3. As it turned out, the losses reported
for dot.com firms during the bubble were a good indicator
of outcomes. Many of these firms did not survive.
• Commentators insisted that traditional financial analysis
was no longer relevant. The “new economy” demands
new ways of thinking, they said. They offered no persuasive new thinking, but discarded the old.
• Analysts appealed to vague terms like “new technology,”
“Web real estate,” customer share of mind,” “network
effects,” and indeed, “new economy” to recommend
stocks. Pseudoscience labels; sound science produces
good analysis, not just labels.
• Analysts claimed that the firms’ value was in “intangible
assets” (and so claimed that the firm must be worth a
lot!), but they didn’t indicate how one tests for the value
of the intangible assets. One even saw analysts calculating
the value of intangible assets as the difference between
bubble prices and tangible assets on the balance sheet.
Beware of analysts recommending firms because they
have “knowledge capital.” Knowledge is value in this information age, but knowledge must produce goods and
services, the goods and services must produce sales, and
the sales must produce profits. And knowledge assets
1.2
must be paid for. Inventors and engineers must be paid.
Will there be good profits after paying for knowledge?
• Analysts relied heavily on nonfinancial metrics like page
views, usage metrics, customer reach, and capacity utilization. These metrics may give some indication of profitability but they don’t guarantee it. The onus is on the analyst
to show how these indicators translate into future profits.
• Analysts moved from focusing on P/E ratios and earnings
growth to focusing on price-to-sales (P/S) ratios and sales
growth. Sales growth is important, but sales ultimately
must produce profits. With analysts’ focus on price-tosales ratios, firms began to manufacture sales through accounting practices like grossing up commissions and barter
transactions in advertising.
• Analysts’ forecasts of growth rates were high compared to
past history. Analysts consistently maintained that companies could maintain exceptional revenue and earnings
growth rates for a long time. Analysts’ “long-term growth
rates” (for 3–5 years in the future) are typically too optimistic in boom times. History says that growth rates usually
decline toward average rates quite quickly.
• Rough indicators of mispricing were ignored without justification. A P/E of 33 for the S&P 500 at the height of the bubble is
a waving red flag. A P/E of 87.9 for Dell, Inc., flashes a warning.
One should have good reasons for buying at these multiples.
• Historical perspective was ignored. Cisco Systems, with a
market value of half a trillion dollars, traded at a P/E of 135
in 1999. There has never been a company with a large
market value that has traded with a P/E over 100.
• Simple calculations didn’t add up. At one point in 1999, an
online discount airline ticket seller traded at a market value
greater than the total for all U.S. airlines. Internet companies
traded at a market value, in total, of over $1 trillion, but had
total revenues of only $30 billion, giving them an average
price-to-sales ratio of 33. This looks high against the historical average P/S ratio of just 1. All the more so when one recognizes that these firms were reporting losses totaling $9
billion. For $1 trillion, an investor could have purchased
quite a number of established firms with significant profits.
• Analysts did not examine the quality of earnings that firms
were reporting. The emphasis was on firms reporting earnings that bettered analysts’ forecasts, not on the quality of
the accounting that went into those earnings.
When individuals or institutions invest in firms, they give up cash in hope of a higher return of cash in the future. The investment gives them a claim on the firm for a return. This
claim is formalized in a contract, which may not be tradable (like most partnership interests
and bank loan agreements), or in a security, which can be traded in security markets (like
stocks and bonds).
9
Challenging Price
From 1996 to 2000, the prices of Internet stocks soared to
such a degree that commentators referred to the phenomenon as speculative mania. The stock price of Amazon.com,
the leading Internet book retailer, rose from $20 in June 1998
to $200 by January 1999 (adjusted for stock splits), at the
same time it was reporting losses. Yahoo!’s stock rose from
$25 to $225 over the same period, giving it a P/E ratio of
1,406 and a price-sales ratio of 199. Shares in America Online
(AOL), another Internet portal, rose from $20 in June 1998 to
$150 by April 1999 (before its acquisition of Time Warner),
giving it a P/E ratio of 649, a price-sales ratio of 46, and a market capitalization of 21 2 times that of General Motors.
To investigate whether these prices represent value or
speculative mania, the fundamental investor asks what are
reasonable expectations for these firms. AOL was reporting
annual sales revenue of $3.1 billion at the time, 80 percent
from the subscriptions of 18 million members, and the remainder from online advertising and Internet commerce. The
fundamental investor might ask: What anticipated sales
growth over the next 10 years is required to justify a price of
46 times sales? Well, if AOL were to maintain its 1998 profit
1.3
margin of 81 2 percent of sales, he might calculate that AOL
needs $291 billion in sales in 10 years, or a 9,387 percent increase over current sales, about 57 percent per year. (You will
see how to make these calculations later.)
Perspective might tell him this forecast is a high number.
Among the largest U.S. firms in stock market value, General
Motors had 1998 sales of $154 billion, General Electric’s 1998
sales were $100 billion, and Microsoft’s were $16 billion.
Wal-Mart, the largest U.S. retailer, had 1998 sales of $138 billion and experienced sales growth of 17 percent per year in
the 1990s. He might then take a defensive position and not
hold AOL stock. Or he might take an active position and sell it
short. Or he might come to the conclusion that AOL’s future
prospects justify the current price of its shares.
The thorough fundamental investor would not be satisfied
by assuming that AOL would maintain its profit margin at the
1998 level. He would forecast future profit margins as well.
He would investigate alternative strategic scenarios and anticipate the payoffs from the scenarios. And he would ask
whether a reasonable scenario could be developed that would
justify the current market price.
Corporate claims vary from simple “plain vanilla” types such as equity and debt to
more complicated contingent claims. Contingent claims such as convertible bonds, options, and warrants are derivative claims whose payoffs are based on the price of firms’
stocks or bonds, usually stocks. Despite their contractual complexity, contingent claims
are relatively easy to value: Once the value of the stocks or bonds is determined, standard
option-pricing techniques can be used to get the derivative price. The techniques follow
the principles of financial engineering (which will not concern us in this book). Equity and
debt claims are more basic: Their value is “fundamental” to valuing the contingent claims.
Their pricing is guided by principles of fundamental analysis (on which we very much
focus in this book).
The equity is the most important corporate claim, and the value of the equity is a particular focus for financial analysis. It is the primary claim, so much so that common stock
is sometimes referred to as the fundamental security. The equity is the owners’ claim on the
business, often referred to as owners’equity or shareholders’equity. This claim is the residual claim on the value of the firm after other claimants have been satisfied. It is, by far, the
most difficult claim to value and it is the valuation of this claim, equity valuation, with
which we will be preoccupied. But we also will be concerned with debt claims. Debt claims
are relatively simple claims for return of interest and principal. So they are relatively simple to value.
Figure 1.1 depicts the debtholders and shareholders and the cash flows between them
and the firm. We ignore the holders of contingent claims here to keep it simple. Debtholders
(bondholders, banks, and other creditors) make loans to the firm in exchange for a claim for
a payoff in the form of interest payments and loan repayments, as shown. Shareholders
contribute cash in exchange for equity shares that entitle them to a payoff in the form of
dividends or cash from share repurchases. The amount of the payoff, less the amount paid
for the claim, is called the return.
10
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation 11
FIGURE 1.1 The Firm, Its Claimants, and the Capital Market
The Capital Market:
Trading value
The Investors:
The claimants on value
The Firm:
The value generator
Cash from loans
Operating
activities
Investing
activities
Financing
activities
Cash from
sale of debt
Debtholders
Interest and
loan repayments
Cash from
share issues
Shareholders
Dividends and cash from
share repurchases
Secondary
Debtholders
Cash from
Secondary
sale of shares Shareholders
When a firm sells debt or equity claims it trades in the capital market. The capital market can be a formal, organized stock exchange where public, “listed” firms trade; an informal market involving intermediaries such as venture capitalists, private equity firms, banks,
and investment brokers; or a simple process of raising capital from family and friends.
Holders of claims also may sell claims in the capital market if they wish to liquidate their
investment. They sell to secondary investors and receive cash, as indicated by the arrows in
the diagram, in exchange for surrendering their claims to the new investors. So you see from
the diagram that the payoffs to claimants (indicated by the arrows flowing to them) come
both from the firm and from sales of their claims in the capital market. For shareholders, the
payoffs are in the form of dividends from the firm and proceeds from the sale of shares,
either to the firm in a share repurchase (where the firm buys back shares) or to other investors
in the stock market. Debtholders receive interest and a settlement payment, either by the firm
redeeming the debt before or at maturity or by selling the debt in the bond market.
The value of a claim traded in the capital market is based on the anticipated payoffs that
the firm will ultimately pay on the claim. So the diagram describes the firm as the value generator. Debtholders want enough value generated to recover interest and principal. Shareholders get the residual value after the return to the bondholders. To the extent their goals
are financial ones, shareholders want to maximize the value generated by the firm. Indeed,
as owners they have the authority, in most cases, to hire and fire management to ensure that
management strives to increase firm value and the value of their residual claim.
It is always the case that the value of the claims on a firm must add up to the value of the
firm:
Value of the firm
Value of debt
Value of equity
(1.1)
This just states that the total value that a firm generates must be divided among the various
claims to that value (just the two basic claims are given here). So, in valuation, we can think
of valuing the firm and dividing the firm’s value among claimants, or we can think of valuing the claims, the sum of which is the value of the firm. The value of the firm is sometimes
referred to as the value of the enterprise or enterprise value.
We will have much more to say about value generation in a business. To start, the diagram
shows the firm involved in three activities: financing activities, investing activities, and
operating activities. Specifics vary, but these three activities are generic to all businesses.
12
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation
• Financing activities are the transactions with claimants that we have just talked about:
raising cash for the business in exchange for equity and debt claims and returning cash
to claimants. These activities are investing activities for the claimants but financing
activities for the firm.
• Investing activities use the cash raised from financing activities and generated in operations to acquire assets to be employed in operations. These assets may be physical
assets, like inventories, plant, and equipment, or knowledge and intellectual assets, like
technology and know-how.
• Operating activities utilize the assets in which the firm has invested to produce and sell
products. Operating activities combine assets with labor and materials to produce products and services, sell them to customers, and collect cash from customers. If successful, the operations generate enough cash to reinvest in assets or return to claimants.
Understanding these activities is fundamental to understanding the value generation in a
business. The picture is very much incomplete here, so these activities are drawn as opaque
windows in the diagram. As the book proceeds, we will open these windows to learn more
about how the firm generates value for its investors.
THE BUSINESS OF ANALYSIS: THE PROFESSIONAL ANALYST
Many investors find that choosing and managing investments is not their forte, so they
turn to professional financial analysts. In any field, the professional is someone who
has the specialized technology to get a task done. Indeed professionals present themselves as arbiters of good technology, and a profession is judged by its ability to successfully solve the problem at hand. The professional continually asks: What are good
techniques, what are poor ones? The professional, like any other producer, sells products to his customers, the investors. As a competitor with others, the professional asks:
How can I enhance the technology to get an edge over my competition? What does a
good valuation product look like? What’s the best way to go about analyzing information on firms? How can I do financial statement analysis most efficiently? What methods add value for my client? Understanding what a good fundamental analysis technology looks like is at the heart of this book.
As types of investments vary, so do the types of professionals who serve investors. Each
needs to tailor analysis to the client’s need.
Investing in Firms: The Outside Analyst
Many professionals are outside the business, looking in, and we refer to them as outside analysts. Security analysts, investment consultants, money managers, and stockbrokers advise clients on buying and selling corporate securities. Investment bankers and business
brokers advise clients on acquiring and selling businesses. Accountants and assessors value
firms for tax and estate purposes. And any one of these might serve as an expert witness in
litigation involving valuation issues.
Just as there are two main types of business claims, there are two main types of outside
analysts. Credit analysts, such as those at bond rating agencies (Standard & Poor’s,
Moody’s Investors Service, and Fitch Ratings for example) or bank loan officers, evaluate
the riskiness—and thus the value—of business debt. But prime among business analysts is
the equity analyst. Buy-side analysts perform equity research for money managers, mutual
funds and, increasingly, hedge funds. Sell-side analysts provide the research to support retail investors through their brokers. The equity analyst typically prepares an equity research
report. The analyst’s main concern: How do I produce an equity research report that is
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation 13
credible and persuasive and gives my client confidence in investing? Many research reports
fail this test. They typically close with a prominent buy, hold, or sell recommendation. They
present graphs, numbers, and verbiage about the business but it is not always clear how the
recommendation follows from the analysis, or indeed whether it is justified. View the material in this book as a guide to preparing an accomplished equity research report.
Investing within Firms: The Inside Analyst
Inside the firm, business managers invest moneys contributed to the firm in business assets.
Business investment begins with an idea, a “strategy.” These strategies may involve developing new products, exploring new markets, adopting a new production technology, or
beginning an entirely new line of business. Strategy may call for acquiring another firm,
merging with other firms, or entering into alliances. To evaluate their ideas, business
managers, like outside investors, need to analyze the value that their ideas might generate.
Such an evaluation is called strategy analysis.
Business managers may have good intuition and may feel confident that their ideas are
good ones. But they can be overconfident, too persuaded by their own ideas. They, like the
outside intuitive investor, need to submit their intuition to analysis. And their fiduciary relationship to claimants requires that they focus on shareholder value. They must value their
ideas: Is the strategy likely to add value? The insider’s view on analysis should be no different from that of the outsider. The outside investor must be persuaded to buy shares at the
market price and, to decide, looks to analysis. What value is likely to be added over the
price? The inside investor must be persuaded to buy an idea or a strategy at what it will cost
to implement and, to decide, looks to analysis. What value is likely to be added over the cost?
Business strategists develop appealing ideas and each year new strategy paradigms are
offered in business schools and in the financial press. Recent examples are the “centerless
corporation” and the “knowledge corporation,” both of which require investment in reorganization and intellectual capital. The ideas must be tested. Building conglomerates was
popular in the 1960s and 1970s, but most were not successful. Downsizing was a popular
idea of the 1990s, but downsizing may reduce revenues as well as costs. Outsourcing
followed. Like all strategies, these ideas must be subjected to analysis.
Valuation analysis not only helps with the go/no-go decision on whether to commit to an
investment, but it also helps in the planning and execution of the investment. Strategic ideas
sometimes can be vague; submitting the ideas to formal analysis forces the planner to think
concretely about ideas and to develop the specifics; it turns ideas into concrete, dollar numbers. And it forces the planner to examine alternative ways of doing things. Strategies are
revised in response to the numbers until a final, best plan emerges. A good strategy is the
result of both good ideas and good analysis. Investing and managing with valuation analysis is called value-based management.
The chief financial officer (CFO) typically coordinates analysis for management, and it
is her responsibility to institutionalize the best analysis. She and her corporate analysts
evaluate broad strategies and specific proposals to acquire firms, spin off businesses, restructure operations, launch new products, and the like. Managers sometimes complain
about “bean counters” being too narrowly focused on the numbers, stifling innovation. Yet
“manage by the numbers” they must. The onus is on the CFO to adopt an analysis that not
only avoids the criticism but actively promotes innovation and the testing of innovative
ideas, with the assurance that good ideas that add value will be recognized.
Inside and outside analysts differ in one respect: Inside analysts have far more information to work with. Outside analysts receive the published financial statements along with
much supplementary information, but they are typically not privy to “inside information.”
Because you, as students, are not privy to inside information either, the financial statement
14
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation
analysis in this book is more oriented to the outside analyst. Most of the applications are to
U.S. financial statements, but the focus is not on U.S. accounting practices. Rather it is on
how accounting information—be it accounting practices of the United States or any other
country—can best be handled in valuation analysis. Statements of other countries as well
as the United States can be reformulated and modified according to universal principles to
make them more amenable to analysis. And impediments to good analysis due to accounting principles or disclosure deficiencies will be identified. So we develop a critique of
financial statements as they are currently prepared.
THE ANALYSIS OF BUSINESS
The techniques to be developed in this book are for both inside and outside investors. Both
invest in business operations. The outside investor talks of buying a stock, but buying a
stock is not buying a piece of paper; it is buying a piece of a business. An old adage says,
“One does not buy a stock, one buys a business.” And it goes on: “If you are going to buy
a business, know the business.”
An accomplished analyst must know the business she is covering. An analyst seeking to
value a telecommunications firm must understand that industry and the firm’s position in it.
She must know the firm’s strategy to build networks, to adapt to technological change, and
to meet the challenges of its competitors. She must know the products. She must anticipate
consumer demand. She must know whether there is excess capacity in the industry. She
must understand the evolving technology path, how voice, data, and multimedia might be
delivered in the future. She must understand government regulations. The business context
gives meaning to information. The significance of high labor costs of, say, 70 percent of
sales is much greater for a firm with low labor input and high capital input than for a consulting firm with a large labor input. To understand whether a P/E ratio of 87.9 for Dell,
Inc., is too high, the analyst must understand the computer business, the prospects for sales
growth, and the profit margins on different computer products. Some types of firms work
on low profit margins (profits relative to sales), while others work on high profit margins,
and it might be ridiculous to expect a low-margin firm to improve its profit margin substantially. Normal inventory levels differ between retailers and wholesalers, and between
manufacturers and retailers. Depreciation charges should be high if a firm is in an industry
with rapidly changing technology or excess capacity.
Analysts specialize by industry sector simply because knowing the nature of the business is
a necessary condition for analyzing a business. For example, equity research reports are usually prefaced by a discussion of the industry and financial statement analysis usually compares
measures like profit margins and inventory ratios to normal benchmarks for the industry.
Understanding business is of course the subject of a whole business school curriculum,
to be filled out by years of experience. The more thorough that knowledge, the more confident one is in business valuation. One treads cautiously when investing in firms about
which one knows little. Do too many investors (and indeed money managers) buy stocks
instead of businesses?
Strategy and Valuation
There are many details of a business with which the analyst must be familiar. To focus his
thinking he first identifies the business model—sometimes also referred to as the business
concept or the business strategy. What is the firm aiming to do? How does it see itself to be
generating value? And what are the consequences of the strategy? These questions are often
answered in terms of how the firm represents itself to its customers. Home Depot, the
Anticipating Strategy: AOL Time Warner
Managers of firms use valuation analysis to evaluate whether
their strategies create value for shareholders. But shareholders
and other potential investors also must familiarize themselves
with firms’ strategies. And they should ask what alternative
strategies firms might pursue, for the value of firms is different under different strategies.
Consider America Online discussed in Box 1.3. In early
1999, AOL was an Internet portal whose revenues came from
subscriptions, advertising, and e-commerce. Then, in early
2000, AOL announced its merger with Time Warner, the large
media company that owned CNN, Turner Broadcasting Systems, publications like Time magazine, Warner Brothers film
and recording studios, cable systems, and many other assets
with valuable brand names. This acquisition was the first big
merger of a new Internet company with an old-style media
company, bringing distribution and content together.
Clearly AOL was a company in rapid evolution, changing
from a portal firm to a content firm in a short space of time.
AOL’s management would need to understand the value of
Time Warner to ensure that they were not overpaying for its
shares. They would need to understand the value of AOL’s own
shares to ensure that, in offering shares to make acquisitions,
1.4
they were not issuing shares that were undervalued in the
market. And they would need to understand any value-added
synergies that would come from combining the firms.
But outside analysts also benefit from understanding how
AOL is likely to evolve. An analyst valuing AOL as a standalone portal firm in early 1999 would have arrived at a different valuation from one who had anticipated AOL’s acquisition
strategy. And an analyst surprised by the Time Warner acquisition would revise his valuation after recognizing the implications of the strategy it revealed.
Strategies are adaptive to changing conditions, so valuations must be revised as strategies change. In mid-2002, AOL
Time Warner’s stock price was down 65 percent from its level
at the time of the merger, and $54 billion of goodwill from the
acquisition had to be written off the balance sheet (the largest
write-off ever). Commentators insisted that the expected benefits from the merger had not been realized. The CEO position
at AOL Time Warner passed from Gerald Levin, who engineered the AOL merger, to Richard Parsons, with the challenge to modify the strategy. Would AOL be spun off from
Time Warner? Anticipating that strategy was the first step in
valuing AOL Time Warner at that point in time.
warehouse retailer of home-improvement products, follows the concept of providing highquality materials for do-it-yourselfers at discount prices, but with training and advice. As a
consequence, the combination of discount prices with added customer servicing costs implies
that the firm must be very efficient in its purchasing, warehousing, and inventory control. The
Gap, Inc., aims to present dress-down clothing as fashion items at reasonable prices in attractive stores, a different concept from warehouse retailing. As a consequence, it must manage
image through advertising and be creative in fashion design while at the same time keeping
production costs low. With considerable retail space, both firms require high turnover in that
space. Both have run into declining fortunes, forcing an evaluation of their strategies.
For the inside investor, the business strategy is the outcome of valuation analysis: A
strategy is chosen after determining whether it will add value. For the outside investor, the
business strategy is the starting point for analysis, for firms can be valued only under a
specified strategy. But the outside investor also should be aware of alternative strategies
that have the potential for enhancing value. Some takeovers occur because outside investors
believe that more value can be created with new ideas and with new management.
Strategies are ever evolving, so the analyst must be attuned to the way firms adapt to
change. Indeed, a smart analyst anticipates changes in strategy and the value they might
create or destroy. See Box 1.4.
Mastering the Details
Once the business is clearly in mind, the analyst turns to master the details. There are many
details of the business to discover, but you can think of them under five categories.
1. Know the firm’s products.
a. Types of products.
b. Consumer demand for the products.
15
16
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation
c.
d.
e.
f.
Price elasticity of demand for the products. Does the firm have pricing power?
Substitutes for each product. Is the product differentiated? On price? On quality?
Brand name association with products.
Patent protection for products.
2. Know the technology required to bring products to market.
a. Production process.
b. Marketing process.
c. Distribution channels.
d. Supplier network and how the supply chain operates.
e. Cost structure.
f. Economies of scale.
3. Know the firm’s knowledge base.
a. Direction and pace of technological change and the firm’s grasp of it.
b. Research and development program.
c. Tie-in to information networks.
d. Ability to innovate in product development.
e. Ability to innovate in production technology.
f. Economies from learning.
4. Know the competitiveness of the industry.
a. Concentration in the industry, the number of firms, and their sizes.
b. Barriers to entry in the industry and the likelihood of new entrants and substitute
products. Is there brand protection? Are customer switching costs large?
c. The firm’s position in the industry. Is it a first mover or a follower in the industry?
Does it have a cost advantage?
d. Competitiveness of suppliers. Do suppliers have market power? Do labor unions
have power?
e. Capacity in the industry. Is there excess capacity or undercapacity?
f. Relationships and alliances with other firms.
5. Know the management.
a. What is management’s track record?
b. Is management entrepreneurial?
c. Does management focus on shareholders? Do members of management have a
record of serving their own interests? Are they empire builders?
d. Do stock compensation plans serve shareholders’ interests or managements’
interests?
e. What are the details of the ethical charter under which the firm operates, and do managers have a propensity to violate it?
f. What is the strength of corporate governance mechanisms?
6. Know the political, legal, regulatory, and ethical environment.
a. The firm’s political influence.
b. Legal constraints on the firm, including antitrust law, consumer law, labor law, and
environmental law.
c. Regulatory constraints on the firm, including product and price regulations.
d. Taxation of the business.
These features are sometimes referred to as the economic factors that drive the business.
You have studied many of these factors, and more, in courses on business economics, strategy, marketing, and production.
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation 17
The Key Question: Sustainability of Competitive Advantage
Armed with an understanding of a firm’s strategy and a mastery of the details, the analyst
focuses on the key question: How durable is the firm’s competitive advantage?
Microeconomics tells us that competition drives away abnormal returns, so that a firm
ultimately earns a return equal to the required return for the risk assumed. With few exceptions, the forces of competition are at play, and the critical question is how long those
forces take to play out. The key to adding value is to design a business where abnormal returns endure for as long as possible. Firms attempt to counter the forces of competition to
gain competitive advantage. The more enduring the competitive advantage, the more the
firms generate value.
The business strategy and all of the economic factors listed ultimately bear upon competitive advantage. Innovative strategies are adopted to “get ahead of the competition.”
Products are designed to allure customers from the competition. Brands are built to maintain enduring customer loyalty. Patent protection is sought. Innovative production technologies are adopted for cost advantage. And, yes, politicians are lobbied to protect firms
from competition. The inside analyst designs strategies to maintain competitive advantage.
The outside analyst understands those strategies and strives to answer the question as to the
durability of the firm’s competitive advantage.
Financial Statements: The Lens on the Business
Understanding economic factors is a prerequisite to forecasting. But we need a way of
translating these factors into measures that lead to a valuation. We must recognize the firm’s
product, the competition in the industry, the firm’s ability to develop product innovations,
and so on, but we also must interpret this knowledge in a way that leads to a valuation. Economic factors are often expressed in qualitative terms that are suggestive but do not immediately translate into concrete dollar numbers. We might recognize that a firm has “market
power,” but what numbers would support this attribution? We might recognize that a firm is
“under the threat of competition,” but how would this show up in the numbers?
Financial statements report the numbers. Financial statements translate economic factors into accounting numbers like assets, sales, margins, cash flows, and earnings, and
therefore we analyze the business by analyzing financial statements. We understand the
effects of market power from accounting numbers. We evaluate the durability of competitive advantage from sequences of accounting numbers. Financial statement analysis organizes the financial statements in a way that highlights these features of a business.
Financial statements are the lens on the business. However, financial statements often
produce a blurred picture. Financial statement analysis focuses the lens to produce a clearer
picture. Where accounting measurement is defective, analysis corrects. And where the picture in financial statements is incomplete, the analyst supplements the financial statements
with other information. To do so, the analyst must know what the financial statements say
and what they do not say. He must have a sense of good accounting and bad accounting.
This book develops that facility, beginning in the next chapter, where financial statements
are introduced. With this facility and a good knowledge of the business, the analyst proceeds to value the business through the lens of the financial statements.
CHOOSING A VALUATION TECHNOLOGY
The analyst must have a good understanding of the business. He must understand the firm’s
competitive advantage. He must understand how the financial statements measure the
success of the business. But, with all this understanding, he must then have a way of
Valuation Technologies
1.5
The following valuation methods are covered in this book.
All involve financial statement numbers in some way. Each
method must be evaluated on its costs and benefits.
METHODS THAT INVOLVE FORECASTING
METHODS THAT DO NOT
INVOLVE FORECASTING
Value is calculated as the present value of expected dividends.
Dividend Discounting: Forecasting
Dividends (Chapter 4)
The Method of Comparables (Chapter 3)
Discounted Cash Flow Analysis: Forecasting Free
Cash Flows (Chapter 4)
This method values stocks on the basis of price multiples (stock
price divided by earnings, book value, sales, and other financial
statement numbers) that are observed for similar firms.
Value is calculated as the present value of expected free cash
flows.
Multiple Screening (Chapter 3)
This method identifies underpriced and overpriced stocks on
the basis of their relative multiples. A stock screener buys
firms with relative low price-earnings (P/E) ratios, for example,
and sells stocks with high P/E ratios. Or he may screen stocks
into buys and sells by screening on price-to-book, price-tosales, and other multiples.
Residual Earnings Analysis: Forecasting Earnings
and Book Values (Chapter 5)
Value is calculated as book value plus the present value of
expected residual earnings.
Earnings Growth Analysis: Forecasting Earnings and
Earnings Growth (Chapter 6)
Value is calculated as capitalized earnings plus the present
value of expected abnormal earnings growth.
Asset-Based Valuation (Chapter 3)
Asset-based valuation values equities by adding up the estimated fair values of the assets of a firm and subtracting the
value of the liabilities.
converting that understanding into a valuation of the firm. A valuation technology allows
the analyst to make that conversion. However, the analyst must choose an appropriate
technology.
Box 1.5 lists valuation technologies that are commonly used in practice. Some have the
advantage of being simple, and simplicity is a virtue. But techniques can be too simple,
ignoring important elements. Some techniques are dangerous, containing pitfalls for the
unwary. The analyst chooses a technology with costs and benefits in mind, weighing
simplicity against the costs of ignoring complexities.
This book covers the techniques in Box 1.5, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. However, by far the most attention will be given to those techniques that attempt
to calculate fundamental value from forecasts, for value is based on the expected payoffs to
investing. For these methods, the analyst must identify what is to be forecasted. Does the
analyst forecast dividends (and thus use dividend discount methods)? Does the analyst
forecast cash flows (and thus use discounted cash flow methods)? Earnings? Book value
and earnings? To make the choice the analyst must understand the advantages and disadvantages of each and then adopt a technology that provides the most security to the investor.
Guiding Principles
Years of investing experience have produced a set of principles that fundamental analysts
cling to. Box 1.6 lists a number of tenets that will be adhered to as we develop valuation
technologies throughout the book. The first six have been invoked already in this chapter.
Those numbered 7, 8, and 9 bear on the all-important task of handling the information from
which we infer value.
All of the valuation methods in Box 1.5 involve financial statement information, but in
different ways. Too-simple techniques ignore information, and point 7 in Box 1.6 warns
18
Tenets of Sound Fundamental Analysis
As we proceed through the book, we will appeal to a number
of guiding principles. Here is some of the wisdom, distilled
from practice of fundamental analysis over the years:
1. One does not buy a stock, one buys a business.
2. When buying a business, know the business.
3. Value depends on the business model, the strategy.
4. Good firms can be bad buys.
5. Price is what you pay, value is what you get.
6. Part of the risk in investing is the risk of paying too much
for a stock.
7. Ignore information at your peril.
8. Don’t mix what you know with speculation.
9. Anchor a valuation on what you know rather than
speculation.
10. Beware of paying too much for growth.
11. When calculating value to challenge price, beware of
using price in the calculation.
12. Stick to your beliefs and be patient; prices gravitate to
fundamentals, but that can take some time.
We have referenced the first six points already in this chapter.
Points 7, 8, and 9 are discussed in the adjoining text and will
be invoked as we organize information in later chapters. Points
10 and 11 are illustrated below. Point 12 warns against the
“quick buck.” Fundamental investing is not for day traders.
APPLE COMPUTER
After the launch of iPhone on the heels of its product hit with
iPod, Apple Computer’s shares traded at $190 each in mid2008. Analysts had a consensus earnings estimate of $5.20 per
share for its 2008 fiscal year and $6.06 for 2009. Analysts often
refer to the forward P/E ratio, that is, price relative to one year
ahead (forward) earnings. With a stock price of $190 up from
$60 two years before, Apple’s forward P/E was 36.5, compared
with 15.5 for the S&P 500. Apple returned to the “hot stock”
status it enjoyed at the dawn of the personal computer age.
Beware of Paying Too Much for Growth
A P/E ratio indicates the market’s expectation of future earnings growth (as we will see explicitly in later chapters). A P/E of
1.6
36.5 is high by any standard, so the fundamentalist questions whether the market is forecasting too much earnings
growth. Point 10 warns us against getting too excited—too
speculative—about future growth. Fundamentalists see speculation about growth as one of the prime reasons for the
overpricing of stocks and the emergence of price bubbles. A
valuation method needs to build in protection against paying
too much for growth. A sound valuation method challenges
the market’s speculation about growth.
When Calculating Value to Challenge Price,
Beware of Using Price in the Calculation
Price is what you pay and value is what you get. So Point 11
warns against referring to the market price when you are calculating value. If you do so, you are clearly being circular and
have ruined the ability of your analysis to challenge prices. Yet
analysts allow prices to enter in subtle ways. An analyst who
increases her earnings forecast because stock prices have
increased—and then applies a valuation multiple to those
earnings—commits that error. That is so easy to do when
there is excitement about a stock, for there is a temptation to
justify the price. But the analyst may be joining a chain letter.
Apple provides another example.
With the launch of iPhone, an analyst published an earnings forecast for Apple of $6.95 for 2009, considerably
higher than the average for other analysts. This is fair
enough, if the analyst can justify the number. But the analyst
also published a 2009 price target of $250 per share and, accordingly, issued a buy recommendation. To get this number,
the analyst multiplied his 2009 earnings-per-share estimate
by Apple’s current P/E of 36.5. You see the problem. The analyst is pricing earnings on the basis of the market’s pricing of
earnings, but if that pricing is incorrect he is building mispricing into the calculation. He used price to challenge price
rather than value to challenge price. And he compounded
the speculation in a high forecast with speculation in the
market price. If a P/E of 36.5 represents a mispricing, he contributed to the perpetuation of the mispricing. No wonder
bubbles form. The fundamentalist takes care to apply methods that establish the intrinsic P/E ratio without reference to
market prices.
that the investor ignores information at her peril; she puts herself in danger of trading with
someone who knows more than she. Multiple screening methods, for example, use only
one or two bits of information, so they can get you into trouble, as we observed with the
temptingly low multiples for General Motors and Ford. Rarely can an analyst avoid forecasting the future, and forecasting requires more information. So Box 1.5 divides techniques into those that require forecasting and those that do not. Forecasting uses the full
range of information available, but it also requires the appropriate organization of information into a form that facilitates forecasting.
19
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Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation
The trouble with forecasting is that it deals with the future, and the future is inherently
speculative. The fundamental analyst is wary of speculation so, to exercise due care, he invokes points 8 and 9 in Box 1.6. In organizing the information, the analyst follows the
maxim: Don’t mix what you know with speculation. To cut across speculation, he distinguishes information that is concrete from information that is more speculative. Accordingly he takes care not to contaminate relatively hard information with soft information that
leads to speculation. He views notions like intangible assets, knowledge capital, new technology, and Web real estate that were invoked during the bubble (Box 1.2) as dangerous.
But he also is careful in handling financial information. He sees current sales as relatively
hard information, for customers have been won, but he sees information indicating that the
firm might win more customers in the future as more speculative. He does not ignore the
more speculative information, but he treats it differently. Current sales are weighed differently than forecasts of long-run growth rates in sales. He treats information that is used to
forecast one or two years ahead in a different light than information that is used to forecast
the distant future. And he is considerably more uncomfortable with stock valuations that
are dependent on forecasting the long run; he sees such a stock as a speculative stock.
Anchoring Value in the Financial Statements
Tenet 9 in Box 1.6 embellishes Tenet 8: Anchor a valuation on what you know rather than
speculation. Much of what we know about firms is found in the financial statements, so the
maxim might read: Anchor a valuation on the financial statements. Financial statements
contain information of varying quality and the accounting is sometimes suspect, but the information they contain is relatively hard information. Financial statements are based on accounting principles that largely exclude speculative information. They are audited. So,
while the analyst always tests the quality of the information in the financial statements and
organizes that information based on its perceived quality, financial statements are a good
place to start when valuating firms.
Financial statements report two summary numbers, book value of equity and earnings.
The book value of equity is the “bottom line” number in the balance sheet; earnings is the
“bottom line” number in the income statement. The last two methods in Box 1.5 anchor
value on these summary numbers. The form of the valuation is as follows:
Value
Anchor
Extra value
That is, the analyst takes a particular measure in the financial statements as a concrete starting point and then goes about calculating “extra value” not captured by this measure. The
anchor might be the book value of shareholders’ equity, so that
Value
Book value
Extra value
Here book value is the starting point, but the analyst realizes that book value is an incomplete measure of value, so he calculates extra value. In doing so, he calculates the intrinsic
price-to-book ratio, the multiple of book value that the equity is worth. Valuation then
comes down to the method of calculating value that is not in book value.
Alternatively, the anchor might be earnings, so that
Value
Earnings
Extra value
In this case, earnings is the starting point and the extra value yields the intrinsic priceearnings ratio, the multiple of earnings that the equity is worth. In both cases, the analyst
starts with a hard number (in the financial statements) and adds an analysis of more speculative information.
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation 21
To discipline that speculation, he carries out a financial statement analysis that distinguishes relatively hard information about the extra value from that which is relatively soft.
That being so, he is secure in his valuation and is protected against the winds of speculation. The subsequent chapters in this book develop these themes.
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
The best way to tackle this book is to see it as an exercise in building a valuation technology. Think of yourself as an investor who wants to have the best methods to protect and
enhance your investments. Or think of yourself as one of the professionals we have talked
about, an investment analyst or CFO. This will give you focus. If you think in terms of an
outside analyst, ask yourself: How would I build the best valuation product for my clients?
How would I prepare a credible equity research report? If you think in terms of an inside
analyst, ask yourself: How would I write a strategy document or an investment appraisal?
You want an analysis that will be practical, but you want one that is also conceptually
sound. And you want an analysis that is understandable and easy to use.
This focus will make you demand a lot of the book, and of yourself. It will help you develop your critique of investment products that are being offered by vendors. It will help
you develop your critique of the accounting in published financial statements. And, yes, it
will also help you critique the book!
There are three ingredients to a good technology: good thinking, good application, and
good balance between cost and benefit. Use the book to develop good thinking about businesses and their valuation: The book takes pains to lay out the concepts clearly. Use the
book to translate concepts into methods that work in practice: The book builds a practical
technique, block-by-block, from the concepts. Much of the analysis can be built into a
spreadsheet program, and you might build this spreadsheet as you go, a product to carry
over to your professional life. You will find the BYOAP (Build Your Own Analysis Product)
feature on the Web page to be indispensable for this. Use the book to get a sense of costbenefit tradeoffs. When is more detail worth it? What do I lose by cutting corners? What
“bells and whistles” are worth adding?
The text is self-contained. But you will also find the book’s Web page to be a worthwhile
companion. It goes into more “real-life” situations, gives you more data to work with, and
opens up the broader literature. It also has numerous links to information, the basic raw
materials of analysis. Please visit the Web site at www.mhhe.com/penman4e.
Learning comes from reinforcing concepts by application. Exercises are given at the end
of each chapter along with larger cases at the end of each section. They are written with
learning in mind, to make a point, not solely as tests. More applications are on the Web
page. Work through as many of these as you can. You will see how the analysis comes to
life as you go “hands on.”
An Outline of the Book
This chapter has introduced you to fundamental investing and has provided a flavor of the
fundamental analysis that supports the investing. Financial statements feature prominently
in analysis, so the introduction is completed in Chapter 2, where the financial statements
are introduced. There you will understand why an analyst might anchor a valuation in the
financial statements. The remainder of the book is then presented in five parts.
Good practice is built on good thinking. Part One (Chapters 3–6) lays out that thinking.
Part One evaluates each of the methods presented in Box 1.5 and lays out how financial
statement information is incorporated in each. By the end of Part One you will have a good
22
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation
sense of what good analysis is and what poor analysis is, and you will have selected a valuation technology with some confidence. The remainder of the book involves the application of the technology to good practice.
Part Two (Chapters 7–12) deals with the analysis of information. It shows how to understand the business through the lens of the financial statements. It also shows how to
carry out financial statement analysis with a view to forecasting payoffs.
Part Three (Chapters 13–15) involves forecasting. It lays out the practical steps for developing forecasts from the information analyzed in Part Two. And it demonstrates how to
convert those forecasts into a valuation.
Part Four (Chapters 16–17) deals with accounting issues. A discussion of accounting is
intertwined with the development of fundamental analysis throughout the book, beginning
in Chapter 2. Part Four pulls the accounting analysis together so that you have a sound understanding of how accounting works in valuation. And, to the financial statement analysis
of the earlier parts, it adds an accounting quality analysis.
Part Five (Chapters 18 and 19) discusses how to bring fundamental analysis to the evaluation of risk, both the risk of equities and the risk of corporate debt.
The Web Connection
Find the following on the Web page supplement for this
chapter:
• More on stock market bubbles.
• A guide to the book’s Web site.
• A further introduction to valuation methods.
• More on investment styles and the styles that equity
funds commit to in their marketing.
• The Readers’ corner provides a guide to further reading.
• More on the history of investing and the returns to
different investments.
Key Concepts
• More on analysts during the bubble.
• Web Exercises has additional exercises, along with solutions for you to work.
active investors buy or sell investments
after an examination of whether they
are mispriced, in order to earn
exceptional rates of return. Compare
with passive investors and defensive
investors. 4
alpha is an abnormal return over the
expected return for the investment risk
taken. 5
beta is a measure of risk as prescribed
by the capital asset pricing model
(CAPM). 5
business model is the concept or strategy
under which a firm operates to add value
from selling products or services to
customers. 14
claim is an enforceable contract for returns
from an investment. 9
competitive advantage is the ability to
earn abnormal returns by resisting the
forces of competition. 17
defensive investors buy or sell investments
after an examination of whether they are
mispriced, in order to avoid trading at the
wrong price. 4
enterprise value is the value of the business
(the firm), in contrast to the value of the
various claims on the firm. 11
financial analyst is a professional who
evaluates aspects of investing; particular
types are equity analysts, credit analysts,
strategy analysts, risk analysts, and bank
loan officers. 12
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation 23
financial statement analysis is a set of
methods for extracting information from
financial statements. 2
financing activities of a firm are the
transactions between a firm and its
claimants that involve cash investments in
the firm by claimants and cash returns to
claimants by the firm. 12
forces of competition are the challenges of
others, in the pursuit of profit, to erode a
firm’s competitive advantage. The forces
of competition tend to drive away
abnormal returns. 17
fundamental analysis (or valuation
analysis) is a set of methods for
determining the value of an
investment. 3
fundamental investors buy investments
only after thoroughly examining
information about firms and reaching
conclusions about the underlying value
that the information implies. 4
fundamental risk is the chance of losing
value because of the outcome of business
activities. Compare with price risk. 5
index investing involves buying and
(passively) holding a market index of
stocks. 5
intrinsic value is what an investment is
worth based on forecasted payoffs from
the investment. Payoffs are forecasted
with information so intrinsic value is
sometimes said to be the value justified
by the information. 4
intuitive investors trade stocks based on
their intuition, without submitting that
intuition to analysis. 3
investing activities of a firm involve the
acquisition and disposal of assets used in
operations. 12
momentum investing follows the rule:
Stocks whose price has gone up will go
up further. 7
operating activities of the firm involve
using assets (acquired in investing
activities) to produce and sell products in
markets. 12
passive investors buy investments without
an examination of whether they are
mispriced. Compare with active
investors. 3
payoff is value received from an
investment. 10
price risk is the chance of losing value
from buying or selling investments
at prices that differ from intrinsic
value. 5
return to an investment is the payoff to the
investment less the amount paid for the
investment. 10
security analysis is a set of methods for
determining the value of an investment
when securities like stocks and bonds are
involved. 3
strategy analysis involves articulating
business ideas and discovering the
value that might be generated by the
ideas. 13
value-based management involves
making business plans by maximizing
the likely value to be generated by the
business, and monitoring and rewarding
business performance with measures of
value added. 13
value of the equity is the value of the
payoffs a firm is expected to yield for its
shareholders (its owners). 10
value of the firm (or enterprise value) is
the value of the payoffs a firm is expected
to yield for all its claimants. 11
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
A Self-Study Exercise
At the end of Chapters 1–15, the principles and techniques of the chapter will be applied to
Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the consumer products company that manufactures and markets a wide range of health and hygiene products. By following one company throughout
24
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation
the book, you will observe how a comprehensive financial statement analysis and valuation
is developed. By engaging in the case—by carrying out the tasks it asks you to—you will
take on the role of an active analyst and, by the end of the book, will have the complete ingredients for an equity research report on the company. Every detail of the analysis cannot
be applied to one company, of course, but you will see many of the principles in the text
come to life with Kimberly-Clark.
As you follow Kimberly-Clark, you will be guided to sources for the inputs into
your analysis. You will be asked, with guidance, to perform certain tasks. After completing the tasks, you can check the solution on the Web site for the chapter to see how well
you have done.
Chapter 1 is merely an introduction to the book. But a number of principles have been
laid down. First and foremost is the requirement that, before you engage in valuing a
company, you must understand the business the company is in. So your first engagement
with Kimberly-Clark here leads you to sources that explain Kimberly-Clark’s business
model.
KNOWING THE BUSINESS: KIMBERLY-CLARK
CORPORATION (TICKER KMB)
You have possibly sniffled into a Kleenex tissue. At a younger age you may have used a
Huggies diaper (or nappy). Add to these brands the familiar names of Scott (paper towels),
Scottex, Cottonelle, Viva, Kotex, and WypAll, you get a good idea of what KMB does.
Here is a summary statement:
Kimberly-Clark Corporation manufactures and markets a range of health and hygiene products. The Company is organized into three global business segments. The Personal Care segment manufactures and markets disposable diapers, training and youth pants and swim pants,
and feminine and incontinence care products. The Consumer Tissue segment manufactures
and markets facial and bathroom tissue, paper towels, wet wipes, and napkins for household
use. The Business-to-Business segment manufactures and markets facial and bathroom tissue,
paper towels, healthcare products such as surgical gowns, drapes, infection control products,
sterilization wraps, disposable face masks and exam gloves, as well as premium business, correspondence and specialty papers.
This, of course, is a cursory statement. The dedicated analyst tries to find out much more
about the details. Where does he look?
Sources of Business Information
First and foremost is the firm’s statement of its business. For this, go to its Web page, at
www.kimberly-clark.com, paying particular attention to its most recent annual report to
shareholders and to the firm’s most recent 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
Of course, you can also Google. Go to www.google.com and enter the company’s name.
Look not only for information on the company but also on the consumer paper products
industry. You will get to various financial information portals—like Google Finance and
Yahoo! Finance—and to news reports on the company. Look for company reports, particularly from financial analysts. Look for consumer and marketing analysis. Now is a good
time to explore the links to research resources on the book’s Web site. Much information on
the Internet is behind passwords, for subscribers only. Time to head to your library and its
electronic resources. Does your library have company research and industry research available? Look for consumer paper products. Does your library link you to articles in the business and financial press? Can you link to trade publications?
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation 25
Knowing What Analysts Are Saying
Before beginning your own analysis, understand what “the Street” (in the U.S.) or “the
City” (in the UK) is saying. Start with a finance Web site. These Web sites often have a summary of analysts’ opinions and their earnings and revenue forecasts, like the one in
Exhibit 1.1 from Yahoo! Finance (at http://finance.yahoo.com/). Does your library subscribe to services that provide recent analysts’ research reports like Thomson One, Multex,
or S&P Market Insight? A number of brokerages allow you to sign up for fred trials for
their services.
A warning goes along with peeking at analysts’ reports before you start your own
research: Beware of joining the speculative crowd. Analysts sometimes herd together, and
there is considerable reward to an independent analysis that uncovers something the herd
does not see.
Here are some questions you should consider as you go through the various sources.
A. What is Kimberly-Clark’s core business?
B. What is Kimberly-Clark’s strategy for the future?
C. How does Kimberly-Clark intend to grow? Does it grow through acquisitions?
D. What is Kimberly-Clark’s competitive environment? Who are its main competitors?
E. What are the main risks facing the firm?
F. Exhibit 1.1 gives an intraday price chart for March 24, 2005. Find a price chart for prior
periods (on Yahoo!, for example) and calculate the returns that shareholders earned on
the stock over the 2004 calendar year.
G. Summarize and discuss the main features of the analysts’ reports in Exhibit 1.1.
H. Overall, do analysts (covered in Exhibit 1.1) think KMB shares are reasonably priced,
cheap, or expensive?
I. How has KMB’s stock price fared since March 24, 2005, the date of the report in
Exhibit 1.1?
EXHIBIT 1.1
Analysts’
Recommendations
and Estimates for
Kimberly-Clark
Corporation from
Yahoo! Finance Web
Page on March 24,
2005.
The header gives the stock price
at close of trading on March 24,
the stock price movements during the day, and basic summary
information. The Analyst Opinion summarizes analysts’ buy,
hold, or sell recommendations,
along with revisions by selected
firms. The Analyst Estimates
summarize analysts’ consensus
forecasts for earnings, revenues,
and earnings growth rates, with
comparisons to the industry,
sector, and the S&P 500 firms.
Kimberly Clark CP (NYSE:KMB) Delayed quote data
Last Trade:
Trade Time:
Change:
Prev Close:
Open:
Bid:
Ask:
1y Target Est:
64.81
Mar 24
↓0.53 (0.81%)
65.34
65.55
N/A
N/A
72.06
Day’s Range:
52wk Range:
Volume:
Avg Vol (3m):
Market Cap:
P/E (ttm):
EPS (ttm):
Div & Yield:
64.81–65.55
58.74–69.00
1,096,600
1,442,363
31.20B
18.13
3.57
1.80 (2.78%)
KMB 24-Mar 3:59pm
65.6
65.4
65.2
65.0
64.8
10am
12pm
2pm
4pm
(Continued)
26
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation
Analyst Opinion
EXHIBIT 1.1
(Continued)
Commendation Summary*
Mean Recommendation (this week):
Mean Recommendation (last week):
Change:
Personal Goods Industry Mean:
S&P 500 Mean:
2.6
2.5
0.1
2.44
2.52
*(Strong Buy) 1.0–5.0 (Strong Sell)
Price Target Summary
Mean Target:
Median Target:
High Target:
Low Target:
No. of Brokers:
72.06
73.50
80.00
59.00
8
Upgrades and Downgrades History
Date
Research Firm
Action
From
To
15-Feb-05
3-Feb-04
8-Oct-03
12-Sep-03
4-Apr-03
11-Dec-02
11-Dec-02
19-Jul-02
24-Apr-02
28-Feb-02
Smith Barney Citigroup
Deutsche Securities
CSFB
Morgan Stanley
Fahnestock
Salomon Smth Brny
Banc of America Sec
Banc of America Sec
Goldman Sachs
ABN AMRO
Downgrade
Initiated
Initiated
Initiated
Initiated
Upgrade
Downgrade
Upgrade
Upgrade
Initiated
Buy
Hold
Buy
Outperform
Equal-weight
Buy
Outperform
Mkt Perform
Buy
Mkt Outperform
Buy
In-line
Buy
Mkt Perform
Mkt Perform
Recommendation Trends
Current Month
Last Month
Two Months Ago
Three Months Ago
2
5
4
1
1
2
4
5
1
0
3
4
4
1
0
3
5
4
1
0
Strong Buy
Buy
Hold
Sell
Strong Sell
Analyst Estimates
Earnings Est
Current Qtr
Mar-05
Next Qtr
Jun-05
Current Year
Dec-05
Next Year
Dec-06
0.93
11
0.93
0.94
0.91
0.95
10
0.92
0.97
0.90
3.81
12
3.71
3.85
3.61
4.14
12
4.08
4.24
3.81
Avg. Estimate
No. of Analysts
Low Estimate
High Estimate
Year Ago EPS
Next Earnings Date: 25-Apr-05
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation 27
Earnings Est
Avg. Estimate
No. of Analysts
Low Estimate
High Estimate
Year Ago Sales
Sales Growth (year/est)
Earnings History
Next Qtr
Jun-05
Current Year
Dec-05
Next Year
Dec-06
3.91B
4
3.89B
3.92B
3.80B
2.9%
3.90B
4
3.89B
3.91B
3.78B
3.3%
15.77B
9
15.34B
16.20B
N/A
N/A
16.35B
7
16.11B
16.68B
15.77B
3.7%
Mar-04
Jun-04
Sep-04
Dec-04
EPS Est
EPS Actual
Difference
Surprise %
0.91
0.91
0.00
0.0%
0.89
0.90
0.01
1.1%
0.90
0.89
–0.01
–1.1%
0.90
0.91
0.01
1.1%
EPS Trends
Current Qtr
Mar-05
Next Qtr
Jun-05
Current Year
Dec-05
Next Year
Dec-06
0.93
0.93
0.93
0.94
0.94
0.95
0.95
0.95
0.96
0.96
3.81
3.81
3.82
3.81
3.81
4.14
4.14
4.15
4.16
4.16
Current Qtr
Mar-05
Next Qtr
Jun-05
Current Year
Dec-05
Next Year
Dec-06
Current Estimate
7 Days Ago
30 Days Ago
60 Days Ago
90 Days Ago
EPS Revisions
Concept
Questions
Current Qtr
Mar-05
Up Last 7 Days
Up Last 30 Days
Down Last 30 Days
Down Last 90 Days
0
1
0
0
Growth Est
KMB
Industry
Sector
S&P 500
Current Qtr.
Next Qtr.
This Year
Next Year
Past 5 Years (per annum)
Next 5 Years (per annum)
Price/Earnings (avg. for
comparison categories)
PEG Ratio (avg. for
comparison categories)
2.2%
5.6%
5.5%
8.7%
2.0%
8.0%
9.4%
8.6%
11.7%
11.8%
N/A
11.15%
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
7.8%
11.5%
10.5%
10.6%
N/A
10.51%
19.27
N/A
15.80
1.73
N/A
1.50
17.0
2.12
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
C1.1. What is the difference between fundamental risk and price risk?
C1.2. What is the difference between an alpha technology and a beta technology?
C1.3. Critique the following statement: Hold stocks for the long run, for in the long run, the
return to stocks is always higher than bond returns.
C1.4. What is the difference between a passive investor and an active investor?
28
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation
C1.5. In the late 1990s, P/E ratios were high by historical standards. The P/E ratio for the
S&P 500 stocks was as high as 33 in 1999. In the 1970s it was 8. What do you think
would be a “normal” P/E ratio—that is, where multiples higher than normal could be
called “high” and multiples less than normal could be called “low”? Hint: The P/E
ratio is the inverse of the E/P ratio, sometimes called the earnings yield. Compare
this yield with normal return for stocks of about 10 percent.
C1.6. Should a shareholder be indifferent between selling her shares on the open market
and selling them to the firm in a stock repurchase?
C1.7. Some commentators argue that stock prices “follow a random walk.” By this they
mean that changes in stock prices in the future are not predictable, so no one can earn
an abnormal return. Would stock prices follow a random walk if all investors were
fundamental investors who use all available information to price stocks and agreed
on the implications of that information?
C1.8. Consider the case where all investors are passive investors: They buy index funds.
What is your prediction about how stock prices will behave overtime? Will they
follow a random walk? Hint: Prices would not incorporate any information.
C1.9. Figure 1.2 plots a price-to-value ratio (P/V) for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJIA) from 1979 to 1999. A P/V ratio is a metric that compares the market price (P)
to an estimate of intrinsic value (V). The intrinsic value in the figure is based on techniques that will be discussed in this book. But how it is calculated is not important
for the following questions:
a. Up to 1996, the P/V ratio fluctuated around 1.0. What do you make of this
pattern?
b. If you had purchased the Dow 30 stocks each time the P/V ratio fell below 0.8 and
had sold them each time the P/V ratio rose above 1.2, would your investment strategy have performed well?
c. What interpretation do you put on the continuing upward movement of the P/V
ratio after 1995?
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
Jan-99
Jan-98
Jan-97
Jan-96
Jan-95
Jan-94
Jan-93
Jan-92
Jan-91
Jan-90
Jan-89
Jan-88
Jan-87
Jan-86
Jan-85
Jan-84
Jan-83
Jan-82
0
Jan-81
Source: From the Web page
of the Parker Center, Cornell
University. The graph is an
update of one reported in
C. Lee, J. Myers, and B.
Swaminathan, “What Is the
Intrinsic Value of the Dow?”
Journal of Finance, October
1999, pp. 1693–1741. The
Parker Center Web site is at
http://parkercenter.johnson.
cornell.edu.
2
Jan-80
Price-to-Value Ratio
(P/V) for the DJIA at
Monthly Intervals. V
is an Estimate of the
Intrinsic Value of
the Dow.
Jan-79
FIGURE 1.2
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation 29
Exercises
The exercises at the end of each chapter are divided into Drill Exercises and Applications.
Drill exercises test you on the basics, with simple numerical examples. Application exercises apply the principles and techniques of the chapter to real companies. Drill exercises
are important in making sure you have the understanding to proceed to more realistic settings. The degree of difficulty—easy, medium, or hard—is indicated for all exercises.
Drill Exercises
E1.1.
Calculating Enterprise Value (Easy)
The shares of a firm trade on the stock market at a total of $1.2 billion and its debt trades at
$600 million. What is the value of the firm (its enterprise value)?
E1.2.
Calculating Value per Share (Easy)
An analyst estimates that the enterprise value of a firm is $2.7 billion. The firm has
$900 million of debt outstanding. If there are 900 million shares outstanding. What is the
analyst’s estimated value per share?
E1.3.
Buy or Sell? (Easy)
A firm reports book value of shareholders’ equity of $850 million with 25 million shares
outstanding. Those shares trade at $45 each in the stock market. An analyst values the equity
by following the scheme: Value Book value Extra value. She calculates extra value of
$675 million. Should she issue a buy or a sell recommendation to her clients?
Applications
E1.4.
Finding Information on the Internet: Dell, Inc.
General Motors, and Ford (Easy)
This chapter compared Dell, Inc., and General Motors Corp., and Ford Motor Co. Go to the
Internet and find sources that will help research these firms. One site to start with is Yahoo!
Finance: http://finance.yahoo.com.Another is Google Finance: http://finance.google.com/
finance. Look at the book’s Web page for links to further sources.
E1.5.
Enterprise Market Value: General Mills and Hewlett-Packard (Medium)
a. General Mills, Inc., the large manufacturer of packaged foods, reported the following in
its annual report for the year ending May 25, 2008 (in millions):
Short-term borrowing
Long-term debt
Stockholders’ equity
$ 442.0
4,348.7
6,215.8
The short-term borrowing and long-term debt are carried on the balance sheet at
approximately their market value. The firm’s 337.5 million shares traded at $62 per
share when the annual report was released. From these numbers, calculate General
Mills’s enterprise market value (the market value of the firm).
b. Hewlett-Packard, the computer equipment manufacturer and systems consultant, had
2,473 million shares outstanding in May 2008, trading at $47 per share. Its most recent
quarterly report listed the following (in millions):
Investments in interest-bearing debt
securities and deposits
Short-term borrowings
Long-term debt
Stockholders’ equity
$ 11,513
711
7,688
38,153
30
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation
Calculate the enterprise market value of Hewlett-Packard. The question requires you
to consider the treatment of the interest-bearing debt investments. Are they part of the
enterprise?
E1.6.
Identifying Operating, Investing, and Financing Transactions:
Microsoft (Easy)
Microsoft Corp. reported the following in its annual report to the Securities and Exchange
Commission for fiscal year 2004. Classify each item as involving an operating, investing,
or financing activity. Amounts are in millions.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
Common stock dividends
General and administrative expenses
Sales and marketing expenses
Common stock issues
Common stock repurchases
Sales revenue
Research and development expenditures
Income taxes
Additions to property and equipment
Accounts receivable
$ 1,729
4,997
8,309
2,748
3,383
36,835
7,779
4,028
1,109
5,890
Real World Connection
Exercises E4.14, E6.13, E7.7, E8.10, E10.11, E17.10, and E19.4 also deal with Microsoft,
as do Minicases M8.1 and M12.2.
Chapter 1 Introduction to Investing and Valuation 31
Minicase
M1.1
Critique of an Equity Analysis:
America Online Inc.
The so-called Internet Bubble gripped stock markets in 1998, 1999, and 2000, as discussed in
the chapter. Internet stocks traded at multiples of earnings and sales rarely seen in stock markets. Start-ups, some with not much more than an idea, launched initial public offerings (IPOs)
that sold for very high prices (and made their founders and employees with stock options very
rich). Established firms, like Disney, considered launching spinoffs with “dot.com” in their
names, just to receive the higher multiple that the market was giving to similar firms.
Commentators argued over whether the high valuations were justified. Many concluded
the phenomenon was just speculative mania. They maintained that the potential profits that
others were forecasting would be competed away by the low barriers to entry. But others
maintained that the ability to establish and protect recognized brand names—like AOL,
Netscape, Amazon, Yahoo!, and eBay—would support high profits. And, they argued, consumers would migrate to these sites from more conventional forms of commerce.
America Online (AOL) was a particular focus in the discussion. One of the most wellestablished Internet portals, AOL was actually reporting profits, in contrast to many Internet
firms that were reporting losses. AOL operated two worldwide Internet services, America
Online and CompuServe. It sold advertising and e-commerce services on the Web and, with
its acquisition of Netscape, had enhanced its Internet technology services. See Box 1.3.
For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1999, America Online reported total revenue of
$4.78 billion, of which $3.32 billion was from the subscriptions of 19.6 million AOL and
CompuServe subscribers, $1.00 billion from advertising and e-commerce, and the remainder from network services through its Netscape Enterprises Group. It also reported net
income of $762 million, or $0.73 per share.
AOL traded at $105 per share on this report and, with 1.10 billion shares outstanding, a
market capitalization of its equity of $115.50 billion. The multiple of revenues of 24.2 was
similar to the multiple of earnings for more seasoned firms at the time, so relatively, it was
very high. AOL’s P/E ratio was 144.
In an article on the op-ed page of The Wall Street Journal on April 26, 1999, David D. Alger
of Fred Alger Management, a New York–based investment firm, argued that AOL’s stock price
was justified. He made the following revenue forecasts for 2004, five years later (in billions):
Subscriptions from 39 million subscribers
$12.500
Advertising and other revenues
3.500
Total revenue
16.000
Profits margin on sales, after tax
26%
To answer parts (A) and (B), forecast earnings for 2004.
A. If AOL’s forecasted price-earnings (P/E) ratio for 2004 was at the current level of that for
a seasoned firm, 24, what would AOL’s shares be worth in 1999? AOL is not expected to
pay dividends. Hint: The current price should be the present value of the price expected
in the future.
B. Alger made his case by insisting that AOL could maintain a high P/E ratio of about 50
in 2004. What P/E ratio would be necessary in 2004 to justify a per-share price of $105
in 1999? If the P/E were to be 50 in 2004, would AOL be a good buy?
C. What is missing from these evaluations? Do you see a problem with Alger’s analysis?
Chapter Two
LINKS
Links to previous chapter
The first chapter introduced
active investing based on
fundamental analysis and
explained how financial
statements provide a lens
on the business to help
carry out the analysis.
Introduction to the
Financial Statements
This chapter
This chapter gives you a
basic understanding of
the financial
statements with a view
to using them as an
analysis tool.
What are the
financial
statements
telling us?
How are the
financial
statements
organized?
How are book
value and
earnings
measured?
How do
accounting rules
affect priceto-book ratios
and priceearnings ratios?
Link to Part I
The four chapters in
Part One of the book show
how financial statements
are utilized in valuing
business firms.
Link to Web page
The Web page supplement
for his chapter shows you
how to find financial
statements and goes into
more detail about the
statements.
Financial statements contain information that helps the analyst infer fundamental value.
The analyst must appreciate what these statements are saying and what they are not saying.
She must know where to go in the financial statements to find relevant information. She
must understand the deficiencies of the statements, where they fail to provide the necessary
information for valuation. This chapter introduces the financial statements.
You probably have some familiarity with financial statements, perhaps at the technical
level of how they are prepared. This knowledge will help you here. However, our focus is
not on the detailed accounting rules, but on the broad principles behind the statements that
determine how they are used in analysis. The coverage is skeletal, to be filled out as the book
proceeds (and we will come back to a more detailed accounting analysis in Part Four).
Financial statements are the lens on a business. They draw a picture of the business that
is brought into focus with financial statement analysis. The analyst must understand how
the picture is drawn and how she might then sharpen it with analysis. Two features of the
statements need to be appreciated: form and content. Form describes how the financial
statements are organized. Financial statement analysis is an organized way of extracting
information from financial statements, but to organize financial statement analysis, one
must first understand how the financial statements themselves are organized. The form of
the financial statements sketches the picture. Content fills out the form, it colors the sketch.
Content describes how line items such as earnings, assets, and liabilities, dictated by form,
are measured, thus quantifying the message. This chapter lays out the form of the financial
statements and then explains the accounting principles that dictate the measurement.
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 33
The Analyst’s Checklist
After reading this chapter you should understand:
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
• The broad picture of the firm that is painted by the
financial statements.
• Explain shareholders’ equity in terms of assets and
liabilities.
• The component parts of each financial statement.
• Explain the change in shareholders’ equity using the
equity statement.
• How components of the financial statements fit
together (or “articulate”).
• The accounting relations that govern the financial
statements.
• The stocks and flows equation that dictates how
shareholders’ equity is updated.
• Explain the change in shareholders’ equity using the
income statement.
• Explain the change in cash using the cash flow
statement.
• Calculate comprehensive income.
• The concept of comprehensive income.
• Calculate net payout.
• The concept of dirty surplus accounting.
• Generate the financial statements for a savings account.
• The accounting principles that dictate how the balance
sheet is measured.
• Describe, for a particular firm, the picture that is
painted by the financial statements.
• How price-to-book ratios are affected by accounting
principles.
• Calculate a premium over book value.
• The accounting principles that dictate how earnings are
measured.
• How price-earnings ratios are affected by accounting
principles.
• Identify items in the balance sheet that are measured at
fair value.
• Calculate market value added (the stock return).
• Recount the history of price-to-book ratios and priceearnings ratios over the past 40 years.
• The difference between market value added and
earnings.
• Why fundamental analysts want accountants to
enforce the reliability criterion.
• How financial statements anchor investors.
Financial statements are reported to shareholders. All firms listed for public trading in
the United States must also file an annual 10-K report and a quarterly 10-Q report with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are available online through
the SEC’s EDGAR database at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. You should familiarize yourself
with this source.
THE FORM OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The form of the financial statements is the way in which the statements, and their
component parts, relate to each other. Form is given by a set of accounting relations that
express the various components of financial statements in terms of other components.
Understanding these relations is important because, as you will see in later chapters, they
structure the way in which we do fundamental analysis. Indeed, many of these relations
specify how you develop a spreadsheet program to value firms and their equity.
34
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
Firms are required to publish three primary financial statements in the United States, the
balance sheet, the income statement, and the cash flow statement. In addition they must
report a statement reconciling beginning and ending shareholders’ equity for the reporting
period. This is usually done in a fourth statement, the statement of shareholders’ equity,
but the information is sometimes given in footnotes. Other countries have similar
requirements. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which is developing
financial reporting standards with broad, international application, requires the three
primary statements plus an explanation of changes in shareholders’ equity. The Web page
gives examples of financial statements for a number of countries.
Exhibit 2.1 presents the four financial statements for the fiscal year ending February 1,
2008, for Dell, Inc., the personal computer manufacturer whose P/E ratio we questioned in
Chapter 1. We will spend some time with Dell in this book, so take time here to understand
its financial statements. As the statements are the lens on the business, you might also take
time to understand Dell’s business. Look at the Business and Risk Factors Sections of the
firm’s 10-K.
The Balance Sheet
The balance sheet—Dell’s Consolidated Statement of Financial Position in the exhibit—
lists assets, liabilities, and stockholders’ (shareholders’) equity. Assets are investments that
are expected to generate payoffs. Liabilities are claims to the payoffs by claimants other
than owners. Stockholders’ equity is the claim by the owners. So the balance sheet is a
statement of the firm’s investments (from its investing activities) and the claims to the
payoffs from those investments. Both assets and liabilities are divided into current and
long-term categories, where “current” means that the assets will generate cash within a
year, or that cash will be used to settle liability claims within a year.
The three parts of the balance sheet are tied together in the following accounting
relation:
Shareholders’ equity = Assets − Liabilities
(2.1)
This equation (sometimes referred to as the accounting equation or balance sheet
equation) says that shareholders’ equity is always equal to the difference between the assets
and liabilities (referred to as net assets). That is, shareholders’ equity is the residual claim
on the assets after subtracting liability claims. From an equity valuation point of view, the
shareholders’ equity is the main summary number on the balance sheet. It’s the accountants’ attempt to measure the equity claim. In Dell’s case, the shareholders’ equity of
$3,735 million in 2008 is represented by 19 line items, 12 assets totaling to $27,561 million and seven liabilities totaling $23,732 million, along with a class of redeemable stock
of $94 million. This total of $3,735 million is also explained in the shareholders’ equity by
common stock issued of $10,589 million less stock repurchases (in treasury stock), of
$25,037 million, retained earnings of $18,199 million, and “other” items of $(16) million.
The Income Statement
The income statement—Dell’s Consolidated Statement of Income in the exhibit—reports
how shareholders’ equity increased or decreased as a result of business activities. The
“bottom line” measure of value added to shareholders’ equity is net income, also referred to
as earnings or net profit. The income statement displays the sources of net income, broadly
classified as revenue (value coming in from selling products) and expenses (value going out
in earning revenue). The accounting relation that determines net income is
Net income = Revenues − Expenses
(2.2)
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 35
EXHIBIT 2.1
The Financial
Statements for Dell,
Inc., for Fiscal Year
Ending February 1,
2008.
Four statements are
published: the
balance sheet, the
income statement,
the cash flow
statement, and the
statement of
stockholders’ equity.
DELL, INC.
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position (in millions)
February 1, 2008
February 2, 2007
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
7,764
$
9,546
Short-term investments
Accounts receivable, net of allowance
Financing receivables, net of allowance
208
5,961
1,732
Inventories, net of allowance
1,180
660
3,035
19,880
2,829
19,939
2,668
1,560
2,409
2,147
407
1,648
780
618
$ 27,561
323
110
45
662
$ 25,635
$
$
Other
Total current assets
Property, plant, and equipment, net of depreciation
Investments
Long-term financing receivables, net of allowance
Goodwill
Intangible assets, net of amortization
Other noncurrent assets
Total assets
752
4,622
1,530
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Short-term borrowings
Accounts payable
Accrued and other
Short-term deferred service revenue
Total current liabilities
Long-term debt
Long-term deferred service revenue
Other noncurrent liabilities
Total liabilities
Commitments and contingencies
Redeemable common stock and capital in excess
of $.01 par value; shares issued and outstanding: 4 and 5,
respectively
Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock and capital in excess of $.01 par value;
shares issued and outstanding: none
Common stock and capital in excess of $.01 par value; shares
225
11,492
4,323
2,486
18,526
362
2,774
2,070
23,732
—
94
188
10,430
5,141
2,032
17,791
569
2,189
647
21,196
—
111
—
—
tively; shares outstanding: 2,060 and 2,226, respectively
Treasury stock at cost: 785 and 606 shares, respectively
10,589
(25,037)
10,107
(21,033)
Retained earnings
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
18,199
(16)
15,282
(28)
3,735
$ 27,561
4,328
$ 25,635
authorized: 7,000; shares issued: 3,320 and 3,307, respec-
Total stockholders’ equity
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
36
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
EXHIBIT 2.1 Financial Statements for Dell (continued)
Consolidated Statement of Income (in millions)
Fiscal Year Ended
Net revenue
Cost of net revenue
February 1, 2008
February 2, 2007
February 3, 2006
$61,133
49,462
$57,420
47,904
$55,788
45,897
11,671
9,516
9,891
7,538
5,948
5,051
83
610
8,231
—
498
6,446
—
458
5,509
3,440
3,070
4,382
387
3,827
880
$ 2,947
275
3,345
762
$ 2,583
226
4,608
1,006
$ 3,602
$
$
$
$
$
$
Gross margin
Operating expenses
Selling, general, and administrative
In-process research and development
Research, development, and engineering
Total operating expenses
Operating income
Investment and other income, net
Income before income taxes
Income tax provision
Net income
Earnings per common share
Basic
Diluted
Weighted-average shares outstanding
Basic
Diluted
1.33
1.31
2,223
2,247
1.15
1.14
2,255
2,271
1.50
1.47
2,403
2,449
Dell’s revenue for 2008 was in net revenue from sales of computer products of $61,133 million. Net revenue is sales after deducting estimates for sales returns. From this net revenue,
Dell subtracts operating expenses incurred in earning the revenue to yield $3,440 million
of operating income, the income earned from selling its products. Dell holds substantial
short-term and long-term interest-bearing securities, listed as “investments” on the balance
sheet, and the “investment income” from these investments, net of interest expense on
long-term debt and income from “other” activities, is listed below operating income, but
before income taxes. Finally, taxes are subtracted to yield net income of $2,967 million.
The income statement groups like expenses in categories to report a number of components of net income. Typical groupings in U.S. statements yield the following sequential
components:
Net revenue – Cost of goods sold = Gross margin
(2.2a)
Gross margin – Operating expenses = Earnings before interest and taxes (ebit)
Earnings before interest and taxes – Interest expense + Interest income = Income before taxes
Income before taxes – Income taxes = Income after taxes (and before extraordinary items)
Income before extraordinary items + Extraordinary items = Net income
Net income – Preferred dividends = Net income available to common
Most of these subtotals appear on Dell’s income statement. (Dell reported no extraordinary items.) Names of line items can differ among companies. Gross margin is also
referred to as gross profit and operating income before tax is sometimes referred to as
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 37
EXHIBIT 2.1 Financial Statements for Dell (continued)
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows (in millions)
Fiscal Year Ended
February 1, 2008
February 2, 2007
February 3, 2006
$ 2,947
$ 2,583
$ 3,602
607
329
471
368
394
17
83
(12)
—
—
(80)
—
—
—
224
30
133
37
61
(3)
157
(519)
351
3,949
397
132
3,969
(53)
413
4,751
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash
provided by operating activities
Depreciation and amortization
Stock-based compensation
In-process research and development charges
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation
Tax benefits from employee stock plans
Effects of exchange rate changes on monetary assets
and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies
Other
Changes in:
Operating working capital
Noncurrent assets and liabilities
Net cash provided by operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Investments
Purchases
Maturities and sales
Capital expenditures
Acquisition of business, net of cash received
Proceeds from sale of building
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities
Cash flows form financing activities
Repurchase of common stock
Issuance of common stock under employee plans
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation
(Repayment) issuance of commercial paper, net
Repayments of borrowings
Proceeds from borrowings
Other
Net cash used in financing activities
(2,394)
3,679
(831)
(2,217)
—
(1,763)
(8,343)
10,320
(896)
(118)
40
1,003
(6,796)
11,692
(747)
—
—
4,149
(4,004)
136
12
(100)
(165)
66
(65)
(4,120)
(3,026)
314
80
100
(63)
52
(8)
(2,551)
(7,249)
1,051
—
—
(81)
55
(28)
(6,252)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash
equivalents
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents
152
(1,782)
71
2,492
(73)
2,575
9,546
$ 7,764
7,054
$ 9,546
4,479
$ 7,054
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year
earnings before interest and taxes (ebit), for example. Items included in certain categories
can also differ. Interest income is sometimes given as a separate category from interest
expense. Although necessary to calculate net income to common shareholders, preferred
dividends are in the statement of shareholders’ equity.
38
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
EXHIBIT 2.1 Financial Statements for Dell (concluded)
Consolidated Statement of Stockholders’ Equity (in millions)
Common Stock
and Capital in
Excess of Par Value
Balances at
February 2, 2007
Net income
Impact of adoption of
SFAS 155
Change in net unrealized
gain on investments,
net of taxes
Foreign currency translation
adjustments
Change in net unrealized
loss on derivative instruments, net of taxes
Total comprehensive income
Impact of adoption of FIN 48
Stock issuances under
employee plans
Repurchases
Stock-based compensation
expense under SFAS 123(R)
Tax benefit from employee
stock plans
Balance at
February 1, 2008
Issued Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
Retained
Earnings
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income
3,307
—
$10,107
—
606
—
$(21,033)
—
$15,282
2,947
$(28)
—
$4,328
2,947
—
—
—
—
29
(23)
6
—
—
—
—
—
56
56
—
—
—
—
—
17
17
—
—
—
—
—
(38)
(38)
—
—
—
(3)
—
—
—
—
—
(59)
—
—
2,988
(62)
—
—
—
—
153
(4,004)
Treasury Stock
—
(4,004)
Total
13
—
153
—
—
179
—
329
—
—
—
—
329
—
3
—
—
—
—
3
3,320
$10,589
785
$(25,037)
$18,199
$(16)
$3,735
Net income is given on a dollar basis and on a per-share basis. Earnings per share (EPS)
is always earnings (after preferred dividends) for the common shareholder (called ordinary
shareholders in the United Kingdom and other countries), so the numerator is net income
available to common. Basic earnings per share ($1.33 for Dell in 2008) is net income available to common shareholders divided by the weighted-average of common shares outstanding during the year; a weighted average is used to accommodate changes in shares
outstanding from share issues and repurchases. Diluted earnings per share ($1.31 for Dell)
is based on total common shares that would be outstanding if holders of contingent claims
on shares (like convertible bonds and stock options) were to exercise their options and hold
common shares.
The Cash Flow Statement
The cash flow statement—Dell’s Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows in the exhibit—
describes how the firm generated and used cash during the period. Cash flows are divided
into three types in the statement: cash flows from operating activities, cash flows from
investing activities, and cash flows from financing activities. Recall that this is cash generated from the three activities of the firm depicted in Figure 1.1 in Chapter 1. Cash from
operations is cash generated from selling products, net of cash used up in doing so.
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 39
Investing cash flows are cash spent on purchasing assets less cash received from selling
assets. Financing cash flows are the cash transactions with debt and equity claimants that are
also depicted in Figure 1.1. The sum of the cash flows from the three activities explains the
increase or decrease in the firm’s cash (at the bottom of the statement):
Cash from operations + Cash from investment
+ Cash from financing = Change in cash
(2.3)
Dell generated $3,949 million in cash from operations in fiscal 2008, spent a net $1,763
million on investments, and disbursed a net $4,120 million to claimants, leaving a net
decrease in cash of $1,934 million. The line items in Dell’s statement give the specific
sources of cash in each category. Some, of course, involve cash outflows rather than cash
inflows, and outflows are in parentheses. Dell trades around the world and so holds cash in
different currencies. Thus the change in cash in U.S. dollar equivalents is also explained by
a change in exchange rates over the year: The U.S. dollar equivalent of cash in other currencies increased by $152 million over the year, so the overall decrease in cash (in U.S.
dollars) was $1,782 million.
The Statement of Stockholders’ Equity
The statement of shareholders’ equity—Dell’s Consolidated Statement of Stockholders’
Equity in the exhibit—starts with beginning-of-period equity and ends with end-of-period
equity, thus explaining how the equity changed over the period. For purposes of analysis,
the change in equity is best explained as follows:
Ending equity = Beginning equity + Comprehensive income
– Net payout to shareholders
(2.4)
This is referred to as the stocks and flows equation for equity because it explains how
stocks of equity (at the beginning and end of the period) changed with flows of equity
during the period. Owners’ equity increases from value added in business activities
(comprehensive income) and decreases if there is a net payout to owners. Dell’s reported
comprehensive income for 2008 was $2,988 million. Net payout is amounts paid to shareholders less amounts received from share issues. As cash can be paid out in dividends or
share repurchases, net payout is stock repurchases plus dividends minus proceeds from
share issues. With no dividend, these items net to a net payout for Dell of $3,851 million
(a share repurchase of $4,004 million net of a share issue of $153 million).
Unfortunately, the statement does not quite reconcile beginning and ending equity as
equation 2.4 prescribes. You see other items in Dell’s equity statement. As it turns out, these
are misclassifications due to bad accounting prescribed by accounting rules. We will deal
with this issue when we analyze the equity statement in depth in Chapter 8.
You’ll notice that comprehensive income includes net income of $2,947 million reported in the income statement plus some additional income reported in the equity statement. The practice of reporting income in the equity statement is known as dirty surplus
accounting, for it does not give a clean income number in the income statement. The total
of dirty surplus income items ($41 million for Dell) is called other comprehensive income
and the total of net income (in the income statement) and other comprehensive income (in
the equity statement) is comprehensive income:
Comprehensive income = Net income + Other comprehensive income
(2.5)
A few firms report other comprehensive income below net income in the income statement
and some report it in a separate “Other Comprehensive Income Statement.”
40
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
The Footnotes and Supplementary Information
to Financial Statements
Dell is a reasonably simple operation in one line of business—it manufactures and sells
desktop and notebook computers, workstations, and network servers, along with software
and support programs—and its financial statements are also quite simple. However, much
more information embellishes these statements in the footnotes. The notes are an integral
part of the statements, and the statements can be interpreted only with a thorough reading
of the notes.
If you go to the 10-K on the SEC’s Web site (through the book’s Web page) you will see
that the footnotes are supplemented with a background discussion of the firm—its strategy,
area of operations, product portfolio, product development, marketing, manufacturing, and
order backlog. There is a discussion of regulations applying to the firm and a review of factors affecting the company’s business and its prospects. Details of executive compensation
also are given. This material, along with the more formal “Management’s Discussion and
Analysis” required in the 10-K, is an aid to knowing the business but is by no means complete. The industry analyst should know considerably more about the computer industry
before attempting to research Dell.
The Articulation of the Financial Statements:
How the Statements Tell a Story
The balance sheet is sometimes referred to as a “stock” statement because the balances it
reports are stocks of value at a point in time. (The word “stock” here should not be confused with stocks as in “stocks and shares” or “stocks” used in the United Kingdom and
elsewhere to mean inventory.) The income statement and the cash flow statement are “flow”
statements because they measure flows—or changes—in stocks between two points in
time. The income statement reports part of the change in owners’ equity and the cash flow
statement reports the change in cash.
The so-called articulation of the income statement, cash flow statement, and balance
sheet—or the articulation of stocks and flows—is depicted in Figure 2.1. Articulation is the
way in which the statements fit together, their relationship to each other. The articulation of
the income statement and balance sheet is through the statement of shareholders’ equity
and is described by the stocks and flows relation (equation 2.4). Balance sheets give the
stock of owners’ equity at a point in time. The statement of shareholders’ equity explains
the changes in owners’ equity (the flows) between two balance sheet dates, and the income
statement, corrected for other comprehensive income in the equity statement, explains the
change in owners’ equity that comes from adding value in operations. The balance sheet
also gives the stock of cash at a point in time, and the cash flow statement explains how that
stock changed over a period. Indeed the cash flow relation (equation 2.3) is a stocks and
flows equation for cash.
Much detail buried in the financial statements will be revealed by the financial statement
analysis later in the book. But by recognizing the articulation of the financial statements,
the reader of the statements understands the overall story that they tell. That story is in
terms of stocks and flows: The statements track changes in stocks of cash and owners’
equity (net assets). Dell began its 2008 fiscal year with $9,546 million in cash and ended
the year with $7,764 million in cash. The cash flow statement reveals that the $1,782 million decrease came from a cash inflow of $3,949 million in operations, less cash spent in
investing of $1,763 million, net cash paid out to claimants of $4,120 million, and an
increase in the U.S. dollar equivalent of cash held abroad of $152 million. But the main
focus of the statements is on the change in the owners’ equity during the year. Dell’s
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 41
FIGURE 2.1
The Articulation
of the Financial
Statements.
The stock of cash in
the balance sheet
increases from cash
flows that are detailed
in the cash flow
statement. The stock
of equity value in the
balance sheet increases
from net income that is
detailed in the income
statement and from
other comprehensive
income and from net
investments by owners
that are detailed in
the statement of
shareholders’ equity.
Beginning Stocks
Flows
Ending Stocks
Cash Flow Statement
Cash from operations
Cash from investing
Cash from financing
Net change in cash
Ending Balance Sheet
Beginning Balance Sheet
Statement of
Shareholders' Equity
Cash
+ Other assets
+ Other assets
Total assets
– Liabilities
Owners' equity
Cash
Investment and
disinvestment by owners
Net income and other
earnings
Total assets
– Liabilities
Owners' equity
Net change in owners'
equity
Income Statement
Revenues
Expenses
Net income
owners’ equity decreased from $4,328 million to $3,735 million over the year by earning
$2,988 million in its business activities and paying out a net $3,851 million to its owners
(plus those other items in the equity statement). The income statement indicates that the net
income portion of the increase in equity from business activities ($2,947 million) came
from revenue from selling products and financing revenue of $61,133 million, less
expenses incurred in generating the revenue of $57,693 million, plus investment and other
income of $387 million, less taxes of $880 million.
And so Dell began its fiscal 2009 year with the stocks in place in the 2008 balance sheet to
accumulate more cash and wealth for shareholders. Fundamental analysis involves forecasting
that accumulation. As we proceed with the analysis in subsequent chapters we will see how the
accounting relations we have laid out are important in developing forecasting tools. See Box
2.1 for a summary. Be sure you have Figure 2.1 firmly in mind. Understand how the statements
fit together. Understand how financial reporting tracks the evolution of shareholders’ equity,
updating stocks of equity value in the balance sheet with value added in earnings from business activities. And understand the accounting equations that govern each statement.
MEASUREMENT IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
To recap, the balance sheet reports the stock of shareholder value in the firm and the income statement reports the flow, or change, in shareholder value over a period. Using the
language of valuation, the balance sheet gives the shareholders’ net worth and the income
statement gives the value added to their net worth from running the business. However, we
A Summary of Accounting Relations
2.1
How Parts of the Financial Statements Fit Together
The Balance Sheet
Cash Flow Statement (and the Articulation of the
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement)
Assets
– Liabilities
= Shareholders’ equity
The Income Statement
–
=
–
=
–
=
–
=
+
=
–
=
Net revenue
Cost of goods sold
Gross margin
Operating expenses
Operating income before taxes (ebit)
Interest expense
Income before taxes
Income taxes
Income after tax and before extraordinary items
Extraordinary items
Net income
Preferred dividends
Net income available to common
Cash flow from operations
+ Cash flow from investing
+ Cash flow from financing
= Change in cash
Statement of Shareholders’ Equity
(and the Articulation of the Balance Sheet
and Income Statement)
Dividends
+ Share
repurchases
+ Other comprehensive = Total payout
income
= Comprehensive
– Share issues
income
= Net payout
Net income
Beginning equity
+ Comprehensive
income
– Net payout to
shareholders
= Ending equity
must be careful with words for, while financial reporting conveys these ideas conceptually,
the reality can be quite different. Value and value added have to be measured, and measurement in the balance sheet and income statement is less than perfect.
The Price-to-Book Ratio
The balance sheet equation (2.1) corresponds to the value equation (1.1) that we introduced
in the last chapter. The value equation can be written as
Value of equity = Value of the firm – Value of debt
(2.6)
The value of the firm is the value of the firm’s assets and its investments, and the value of
the debt is the value of the liability claims. So you see that the value equation and the balance sheet equation are of the same form but differ in how the assets, liabilities, and equity
are measured. The measure of stockholders’ equity on the balance sheet, the book value of
equity, typically does not give the intrinsic value of what the equity is worth. Correspondingly, the net assets are not measured at their values. If they were, there would be no analysis to do! It is because the accountant does not, or cannot, calculate the intrinsic value that
fundamental analysis is required.
The difference between the intrinsic value of equity and its book value is called the
intrinsic premium:
Intrinsic premium = Intrinsic value of equity – Book value of equity
and the difference between the market price of equity and its book value is called the
market premium:
Market premium = Market price of equity – Book value of equity
If these premiums are negative, they are called discounts (from book value). Premiums
sometimes are referred to as unrecorded goodwill because someone purchasing the firm at
42
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 43
FIGURE 2.2
8
p10
p25
Median
p75
p90
7
6
Price-to-book ratio
Source: Standard & Poor’s
Compustat® data.
5
4
3
2
1
2003
2001
1999
1997
1995
1993
1991
1989
1987
1985
1983
1981
1979
1977
1975
1973
1971
1969
1967
1963
0
1965
Percentiles of Priceto-Book Ratios for All
U.S. Listed Firms,
1963–2003.
P/B ratios were
relatively low in the
1970s and high in the
1960s and 1990s. The
median is typically
above 1.0.
a price greater than book value could record the premium paid as an asset, purchased goodwill, on the balance sheet; without a purchase of the firm, the premium is unrecorded.
Premiums are calculated for the total equity or on a per-share basis. When Dell published its fiscal 2008 report, the market value for its 2,060 million outstanding shares was
$41,200 million, or $20 per share. With a book value of $3,735 million, the market premium was $37,465 million: The market saw $37,465 million of shareholder value that was
not on the balance sheet. And it saw $37,465 million of net assets that were not on the
balance sheet. With 2,060 million shares outstanding, the book value per share (BPS) was
$1.81 and the market premium was $18.19 per share.
The ratio of market price to book value is the price-to-book ratio or the market-to-book
ratio, and the ratio of intrinsic value to book value is the intrinsic price-to-book ratio. Dell’s
price-to-book ratio (P/B) in 2008 was 11.0. Investors talk of buying a firm for a number-oftimes book value, referring to the P/B ratio. The market P/B ratio is the multiple of book value
at the current market price. The intrinsic P/B ratio is the multiple of book value that the equity is worth. We will spend considerable time estimating intrinsic price-to-book ratios in this
book, and we will be asking if those intrinsic ratios indicate that the market P/B is mispriced.
In asking such questions, it is important to have a sense of history so that any calculation can be judged against what was normal in the past. The history provides a benchmark
for our analysis. It was said, for example, that P/B ratios in the 1990s were high relative to
historical averages, indicating that the stock market was overvalued. Figure 2.2 tracks
selected percentiles of the price-to-book ratio for all U.S. listed firms from 1963 to 2003.
Median P/B ratios (the 50th percentile) for these firms were indeed high in the 1990s—over
2.0—relative to the 1970s.1 But they were around 2.0 in the 1960s. The 1970s experienced
exceptionally low P/B ratios, with medians below 1.0 in some years.
1
The median P/B for all firms during the 1990s was considerably lower than that for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average stocks (consisting of 30 large firms) and the S&P 500 stocks. The P/B for the S&P 500
index increased from about 2.5 in 1990 to over 5.0 by 2000, then decreased to 2.0 by 2008. The P/B
ratio was under 1.0 in the 1970s. The stocks in these indexes tend to be larger than the median stocks
but, because they contain a significant portion of the total value of the market, they are representative of
the broad market.
44
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
What causes the variation in ratios? Is it due to mispricing in the stock market or is it due
to the way accountants calculate book values? The low P/B ratios in the 1970s certainly
preceded a long bull market. Could this bull market have been forecast in 1974 by an analysis of intrinsic P/B ratios? Were market P/B ratios in 1974 too low? Would an analysis of
intrinsic P/B ratios in the 1990s find that they were too high? Dell’s P/B of 11.0 in 2008
looks high relative to historical averages. Was it too high? The fundamental analyst sees
herself as providing answers to these questions. She estimates the intrinsic value of equity
that is not recorded on the balance sheet.
You can view P/B ratios for other firms through the links on the Web page. You also
can find firms with particular levels of P/B ratios using a stock screener from links on the
Web site.
Measurement in the Balance Sheet
To evaluate the price-to-book ratio, the analyst must understand how book values are measured, for that measurement determines the price-to-book ratio.
The value of some assets and liabilities are easy to measure, and the accountant does so.
He applies mark-to-market accounting, thus recording these items on the balance sheets,
at fair value (in accounting terms). These items do not contribute to the premium over
book value. But, for many items, the accountant does not, or cannot, mark to market. He
applies historical cost accounting. Box 2.2 gives the U.S. GAAP measurement rules for
items commonly found on balance sheets, with those carried at fair value and historical
cost indicated. International accounting standards broadly follow similar rules.
After reviewing Box 2.2, consider Dell’s balance sheet. It lists investments of $7,764
million in cash and cash equivalents measured at their fair value. Dell’s short-term investments ($208 million) and long-term investments ($1,560 million) are mainly in interestbearing debt securities. A market value is usually available for these securities, so they can
be marked to market, as indeed they are on Dell’s balance sheet. Dell’s accounts payable
($11,492 million) is close to market value and, while the long-term debt ($362 million) is
not marked to market, its book value approximates market value unless interest rates
change significantly. So, these items do not contribute to the price premium over book
value. Net accounts receivable ($5,961 million), financing receivables (1,732), accrued expenses ($4,323 million), and the “other liabilities” ($2,070 million) involve estimates, but
if these are made in an unbiased way, these items, too, are at fair value.
Thus Dell’s large market premium of $37,465 million over the book value of its equity
arises largely from tangible assets, recorded at (depreciated) historical cost, and unrecorded
assets. The latter are likely to be quite significant. Dell’s value, it is claimed, comes not so
much from tangible assets, but from its innovative “direct-to-customer” process, its supply
chain, and its brand name. None of these assets are on its balance sheet. Nor might we want
them to be. Identifying them and measuring their value is a very difficult task, and we
would probably end up with very doubtful, speculative numbers.
Measurement in the Income Statement
Shareholder value added is the change in shareholders’ wealth during a period. This
comes from two sources: (1) the increase in the value of their equity and (2) any dividends
they receive:
Value added = Ending value – Beginning value + Dividend
(2.7)
In terms of market prices,
Market value added = Ending price – Beginning price + Dividend
(2.8)
Measurement in the Balance Sheet under GAAP
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the
United States prescribe the following rules for measuring
assets and liabilities in the balance sheet. Items whose carrying
values are typically close to fair value are indicated, but note
any exceptions mentioned. Accounting Clinics, introduced
later in this chapter, take you into the detail for some items.
ASSETS
Cash and Cash Equivalents (Fair Value)
Cash and cash equivalents (deposits of less than 90-day
maturity) are recorded as the amount of cash held which
equals their fair value.
Short-Term Investments and Marketable
Securities (Fair Value)
Short-term investments—in interest-bearing deposits, shortterm paper, and shares held for trading in the short-term—are
carried at “fair” market value. An exception is a long-term
security held to maturity that is reclassified to short-term
because it is due to mature. See long-term securities below.
2.2
earnings. In the U.S., assets are never revalued upward to
market value.
Recorded Intangible Assets (Amortized
Historical Cost)
Intangible assets that are recorded on the balance sheet—
purchased copyrights, patents, and other legal rights—are
recorded at historical cost and then either amortized over the life
of the right or impaired if fair value falls below carrying value.
Goodwill (Historical Cost)
Goodwill is the difference between the purchase price of an
acquired firm and the fair value of net assets acquired. Since
FASB Statement No. 142 in 2001, goodwill is carried at cost
and not amortized, but is impaired by a write-off if its fair
value is deemed to have declined below cost.
Other Intangible Assets (Not Recorded)
Assets such as brand assets, knowledge assets developed
from research and development, and assets arising from marketing and supplier relationships are not recorded at all.
Also see Accounting Clinic III.
Long-Term Debt Securities (Some at Fair Value)
Receivables (Quasi Fair Value)
Some investments in bonds and other debt instruments are
marked to market, as prescribed by FASB Statement No. 115.
For marking to market, these investments are classified into
three types:
Receivables are recorded at the expected amount of cash to
be collected (that is, the nominal claim less a discount for
amounts not expected to be received because of bad debts or
sales returns). If the estimate of this discount is unbiased,
receivables are carried at their fair value. If biased, the carrying
amount may not be fair value.
Inventories (Lower of Cost or Market Value)
1. Investments held for active trading. These investments are
recorded at fair market value and the unrealized gains and
losses from marking them to market are recorded in the
income statement, along with interest.
Inventories are recorded at the historical cost of acquiring them.
However, the carrying value of inventories is written down to
market value if market value is less than historical cost, under
the “lower of cost or market” rule. Historical cost is determined
under an assumption about the flow of inventory. Under firstin-first-out (FIFO), the cost of more recent inventory goes to the
inventory number in the balance sheet, and the cost of older inventory goes to cost of goods sold in the income statement.
Under last-in-first-out (LIFO), the balance sheet includes the
older costs and cost of goods sold includes the more recent
costs. Accordingly, in times of rising inventory prices, the carrying value of inventory in the balance sheet is lower under LIFO
than FIFO, but cost of goods sold is higher (and income lower).
All else being equal, price-to-book ratios are thus higher for
LIFO firms than for FIFO firms.
2. Investments available for sale (investments not held for
active trading but which may be sold before maturity).
These investments are also recorded at fair market value,
but the unrealized gains and losses are reported outside
the income statement as part of other comprehensive
income (usually in the equity statement), while interest is
reported in the income statement.
Long-Term Tangible Assets (Depreciated
Historical Cost)
Equity Investments (Some at Fair Value)
Property and plant and equipment are recorded at historical
cost (the amount that the firm paid for the assets), less
accumulated depreciation. If fair market value is less than
amortized historical cost, these assets are impaired (written
down to fair value), with the impairment loss as a charge to
1. Investments involving less than 20 percent ownership
of another corporation. These equity investments are
classified as either “held for active trading,” “available for
sale,” or “held to maturity,” with the same accounting for
debt investments in these categories.
3. Investments held to maturity (investments where the intent is to hold them until maturity). These investments are
recorded at historical cost, with no unrealized gains or
losses recognized, but with interest reported in the income
statement. Fair market values for these investments are
given in the footnotes.
Accounting Clinic III gives the details.
Equity investments are classified into three types:
45
2. Investments involving 20 percent to 50 percent ownership
of another corporation. The equities are recorded using
the “equity method.” Under the equity method, the
investment is recorded at cost, but the balance sheet carrying value is subsequently increased by the share of earnings reported by the subsidiary corporation and reduced
by dividends paid by the subsidiary and write-offs of
goodwill acquired on purchase. The share of subsidiaries’
earnings (less any write-off of goodwill) is reported in the
income statement.
3. Investments involving greater than 50 percent ownership
of another corporation. The financial statements of the
parent and subsidiary corporation are consolidated, after
elimination of intercompany transactions, with a deduction for minority interests in the net assets (in the balance
sheet) and net income (in the income statement).
Accounting Clinics III and V give the details.
liabilities changes as interest rates change, but the liabilities
are not marked to market. However, in periods when interest
rates change little, the carrying value of liabilities is typically
close to market value. FASB Statement No. 107 requires that
the fair market value of liabilities be reported in footnotes,
and the debt footnote typically compares market values with
carrying values.
Accrued and Estimated Liabilities (Quasi Fair Value)
Some liabilities arising in operations—including pension
liabilities, accrued liabilities, warranty liabilities, unearned
(deferred) revenue, and estimated restructuring liabilities—
have to be estimated. If the estimates are unbiased present
values of expected cash to be paid out on the obligation,
these liabilities reflect their value. If biased, these liabilities
contribute to a premium over book value. They are sometimes
called quasi-marked-to-market liabilities, emphasizing that
estimation is involved (and can be suspect).
Commitments and Contingencies
(Many Not Recorded)
LIABILITIES
Short-Term Payables (Fair Value)
Payables—such as accounts payable, interest payable, and
taxes payable—are measured at the contractual amount of
cash to satisfy the obligations. Because these obligations are
short-term, the contractual amount is close to its discounted
present value, so the amount of these liabilities on the balance
sheet approximates market value.
Borrowings (Approximate Fair Value)
Obligations arising from borrowing—short-term debt, longterm bonds, lease obligations, and bank loans—are recorded
at the present value of the contractual amount, so they are
at market value when initially recorded. The value of these
If a liability is contingent upon some event, it is recorded on the
balance sheet only if two criteria (from FASB Statement No. 5)
are satisfied: (1) the contingent event is “probable,” and (2) the
amount of likely loss can be “reasonably” estimated. Examples
include potential losses from lawsuits, product warranties, debt
guarantees, and recourse on assignment of receivables or debt.
When a liability does not satisfy the two criteria, it must be disclosed in footnotes if it is “reasonably possible.” Firms (like Dell)
often indicate such a possibility by an entry in the balance sheet
with a zero amount and then cover the matter in the footnotes.
Understatement of contingent liabilities in the balance sheet
reduces the premium over book value.
If the market is pricing the intrinsic value correctly, market value added is, of course,
(intrinsic) value added. The change in value in the market is the stock return. The stock
return for a period, t, is
Stock returnt = Pt – Pt–1 + dt
(2.8a)
where Pt – Pt–1 is the change in price (the capital gain portion of the return) and dt is the
dividend part of the return.
The accounting measure of value added—earnings—does not usually equal value added in
the stock market. The reason, again, involves the rules for recognizing value added. Those rules
are summarized in Box 2.3. The two driving principles are the revenue recognition principle
and the matching principle. Accounting recognizes that firms add value by selling products
and services to customers. Unless a firm wins customers, it does not “make money.” So accounting value is added only when a firm makes a sale to a customer: Revenue is booked. The
accountant then turns to the task of calculating the net value added, matching the expenses incurred in gaining revenue against the revenue. Accordingly, the difference between revenue
and matched expenses is the measure of value added from trading with customers.
46
Measurement in the Income Statement
under GAAP
The accounting measure of value added, earnings, is determined by rules for measuring revenues and expenses.
REVENUES: THE REVENUE RECOGNITION
PRINCIPLE
Value is added by businesses from a process—a value creation
chain—that begins with strategy and product ideas, and then
continues with the research and development of those ideas,
the building of factories and distribution channels to deliver
the product, the persuading of customers to buy the finished
product, and finally the collection of cash from customers.
Potentially, value could be recognized gradually, as the process
proceeds. However, accounting typically recognizes value
added at one point in the process. The two broad principles
for revenue recognition are:
1. The earnings process is substantially accomplished.
2. Receipt of cash is reasonably certain.
In most cases, these two criteria are deemed to be satisfied
when the product or service has been delivered to the customer and a receivable has been established as a legal claim
against the customer. The revenue recognized at that point is
the amount of the sale, discounted to net revenue based on
an assessment of the probability of not receiving cash (the
receivable is also discounted to a net receivable).
In a few cases, revenue is recognized during production,
but before final sale—in long-term construction projects,
for example—and sometimes revenue is not recognized
until cash is collected—as in some retail installment sales
where there is considerable doubt that the customer will
pay. Gains from securities are sometimes recognized prior to
sale—in the form of “unrealized” gains and losses—if the
securities are trading securities or are available for sale. (See
Box 2.2.)
EXPENSES: THE MATCHING PRINCIPLE
Expenses are recognized in the income statement by their
association with the revenues for which they have been
incurred. This matching of revenues and expenses yields an
earnings number that is net value added from revenues.
Matching is done by direct association of expenses with revenues or by association with periods in which revenue is recognized. Cost of goods sold, for example, is recognized by directly
matching the cost of items sold with the revenue from the sale
of those items, to yield gross margin. Interest expenses, in contrast, are matched to the period in which the debt provides the
financing of the operations that produce revenue.
Revenue recognition and expense matching are violated in
practice, reducing the quality of earnings as a measure of value
added from customers. Firms themselves may violate the
2.3
revenue recognition and matching principles, but violations
also are admitted (indeed, required) under GAAP. In these
cases, the difference between value added and accounting
value added is explained, not only in cases where the revenue
recognition and matching principles have been followed, but
further by the violation of these principles. Here are some
examples of good and poor matching.
Examples of Sound Matching Prescribed by GAAP
• Recording cost of goods sold as the cost of producing
goods for which sales have been made and, correspondingly, placing the cost of goods produced, but not sold, in
inventory in the balance sheet, to be matched against
future revenues when they are sold.
• Recording expenditure on plant as an asset and then allocating the cost of the asset to the income statement (as
depreciation expense) over the life of the asset. In this way,
income is not affected when the investment is made, but
only as revenues from the plant are recognized. Accordingly, income is revenue matched with the plant costs incurred to earn the revenue.
• Recording the cost of employee pensions as expenses in
the period in which the employees provide service to produce revenues, rather than in the future when pensions
are paid (and employees are not producing, but retired).
Examples of Poor Matching Prescribed by GAAP
• Expensing research and development (R&D) expenditures
in the income statement when incurred, rather than
recording them as an asset (an investment) in the balance
sheet. If the expenditures were recorded as an asset, their
cost would be matched (through amortization) against the
future revenues that the R&D generates.
• Expensing film production costs as incurred, rather than
matching them against revenues earned after the film is
released.
Examples of Poor Matching by Firms
• Underestimating bad debts from sales so that income from
sales is overstated.
• Estimating long useful lives for plant so that depreciation is
understated.
• Overestimating a restructuring charge. The overestimate
has the consequence of recording current period’s income as less than it would be with an unbiased estimate,
while recording future income as higher than it would be
because expenses (like depreciation) have already been
written off.
47
THE WORLDCOM CON
In June 2002, WorldCom, the second largest U.S. longdistance telephone carrier through its MCI unit, confessed to
overstating income by $3.8 billion over 2001–2002, one of
the largest accounting frauds ever. The overstatement was
due to a mismatch of revenues with access fees paid to local
telephone companies. These fees are necessary to connect
long-distance calls through local networks to customers; thus
they are a cost of earning current revenue. The WorldCom
CFO, however, capitalized these costs as assets in the balance
sheet, with the idea of amortizing them against future revenue. This treatment served to inflate income by $3.8 billion
and allowed WorldCom to avoid reporting losses. WorldCom
shares had traded at a high of $64 per share during the telecom bubble, but they fell below $1 in June 2002, and the firm
subsequently filed for bankruptcy.
PRO FORMA EARNINGS OFTEN
INVOLVE MISMATCHING
During the stock market bubble, corporations often encouraged investors to evaluate them on “pro forma” earnings
numbers that differed from GAAP earnings. Analysts and investment bankers also promoted these numbers. Most pro
forma numbers involve mismatching, usually omitting expenses. Indeed they are sometimes referred to as “ebs” (in
contrast to eps): Everything but the Bad Stuff. Amazon.com,
for example, referred to earnings before amortization and
interest (yes, interest!) in press releases; its GAAP numbers
(after amortization and interest) were actually losses.
The most prevalent pro forma number is ebitda, earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. This
number omits taxes and interest and also depreciation and
amortization. Analysts argue that it is a better number because depreciation and amortization are not cash costs, so
ebitda is emphasized in telecom and media companies whose
large capital investments result in large depreciation charges.
However, while the analyst might be wary of mismeasurement
of depreciation, depreciation is a real cost, just like wages expense. Plants rust. Telecom networks become obsolescent.
Telecoms can overinvest in networks, producing overcapacity.
Depreciation expense recognizes these costs.
Reliance on ebidta encourages firms to substitute capital
for labor and, indeed, to invest in overcapacity because the
cost of overcapacity does not affect ebitda. Ebitda can be used
to deceive. The WorldCom con was a scam to inflate ebitda.
Expensing access charges as operating costs reduces ebitda.
However, by capitalizing the charges, WorldCom not only
increased current ebitda, but also be increased future ebitda
as the amortization of capitalized operating costs are classified
as depreciation or amortization; thus the charges are not
reflected in ebitda in any period. Growing ebitda would impress the unwary investor and perpetuate the telecom bubble.
The matching principle, however, is violated in practice, introducing accounting quality
problems and, as we will see, difficulties for valuation. Firms and analysts can mislead
investors by referring to pro forma earnings numbers that fail to match expenses with
revenues. See Box 2.3.
Value added in the stock market, while presumably recognizing value added from selling products during the period, is speculative value. The market not only prices the earnings from current operations, but it also anticipates sales and earnings to be made in future
operations. A firm may announce a new product line. In response, investors revalue the firm
in the market based on speculation about future sales and earnings from the product. A firm
may announce new strategies, new investment plans, and management changes, and the
market prices the anticipated profits from these changes. But none of them affects current
earnings. The accountant says: Let’s wait and see if these actions win customers; let’s not
book revenues until we have a sale. Investors say: Let’s price the anticipated value that will
be booked in future revenues.
Thus accounting recognition of value typically lags intrinsic value. Accordingly, fundamental analysis involves anticipation, that is, forecasting value added that has not been recognized in the financial statements but will be recognized in future financial statements as
48
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 49
FIGURE 2.3
70
p10
p25
Median
p75
p90
60
Price-to-earnings ratio
50
40
30
20
10
Source: Standard & Poor’s
Compustat® data.
2003
2001
1999
1997
1995
1993
1991
1989
1987
1985
1983
1981
1979
1977
1975
1973
1971
1969
1967
1963
0
1965
Percentiles of PriceEarnings Ratios for
All U.S. Listed Firms,
1963–2003.
P/E ratios were
relatively low in the
1970s and high in the
1960s and 1990s.
The median is
typically above 10.0.
(The figure covers
firms with positive
earnings only.)
sales are made. In so doing, fundamental analysis estimates value added that is missing
from the financial statements. This leads us to the price-earnings ratio.
The Price-Earnings Ratio
The price-earnings ratio (P/E) compares current price with earnings. Interpret the P/E ratio
as follows. Price, the numerator, is the market’s anticipation of value to be added from sales
in the future, that is, future earnings. The denominator is current earnings, value added from
current sales. So the P/E ratio compares forecasted future earnings to current earnings. If one
expects considerably more future earnings than current earnings, the P/E ratio should be high,
and if one expects lower future earnings than current earnings, the P/E ratio should be low. To
be more concise, the P/E ratio reflects anticipated earnings growth. Accordingly, fundamental analysis evaluates expected earnings growth to estimate intrinsic P/E ratios. Intrinsic P/E
ratios are then compared to market P/E ratios to test the market’s anticipations.
With Dell trading at $20 per share in 2008, its P/E ratio on 2008 earnings per share of
$1.33 was 15.0. This is considerably lower than the P/E of 87.9 in 2000 that was queried in
Chapter 1. As in 2000, the analyst’s task is to assess whether forecasts of future earnings
justify this multiple. It is now too low? As with the P/B ratio, she has the history of P/E ratios
in mind and uses these as benchmarks. Figure 2.3 tracks selected percentiles of P/E ratios for
U.S. firms. Like P/B ratios, P/E ratios were low in the 1970s, with medians less than 10. But
the 1990s saw considerably higher P/E ratios, with medians of 20 and above.2
The Reliability Criterion: Don’t Mix
What You Know with Speculation
We have seen that the balance sheet omits value and the income statement does not recognize all the value that is added in the stock market. Is there justification for these seeming
deficiencies? Accountants justify their rules by what is called the reliability criterion.
2
P/E ratios for the S&P 500 and the Dow index were on the order of 7 to 10 in the mid-1970s and well
over 20 in the 1990s. By 2000, the P/E for the S&P 500 reached 33. It stood at 16.6 in 2008. The average
P/E ratio for the S&P 500 over the last 50 years has been 16.2.
50
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
The reliability criterion demands that assets and liabilities be recognized only if they can
be measured with reasonable precision and supported by objective evidence, free of opinion and bias. So the reliability criterion rules out recognizing Dell’s direct-to-customer
marketing asset, its brand name, and its supply chain on its balance sheet. Estimates of
these assets are deemed too subjective, too open to manipulation. Indeed, most intangible
assets are omitted from the balance sheet. Knowledge assets developed from research and
development (R&D) are usually omitted. Only assets that the firm has purchased—such as
inventories, plant, R&D acquired by purchasing a patent, and acquired goodwill—are
recorded, for then there is an objective market transaction to justify the measurement.
Contingent liabilities, for which the outcome is not probable or which cannot be reasonably
estimated, also are not recorded.
The reliability criterion also governs the income statement. Indeed, the revenue recognition principle (see Box 2.3) invokes the reliability criterion: Revenues are recorded only
when there is reliable evidence of a customer buying the product. So accountants do not
book revenue based on speculation that the firm may get customers in the future—only
when they actually do.
The reliability criterion suits the fundamental analyst well. Stock prices are based on
speculation about firms’ ability to make sales in the future and to generate earnings from
those sales. The role of fundamental analysis is to challenge that speculation in order to test
whether stocks are appropriately priced. So fundamental analysts have a maxim: Don’t mix
what you know with what you don’t know. So, you accountants, don’t mix speculation with
knowledge. Sales made in the current period, and the earnings derived from them after
matching expenses, are something that we know with some reliability (unless the accounting is suspect). Don’t contaminate that knowledge by mixing it with speculation in the
income statement, for the analyst wants to use that knowledge to test speculation. Further,
don’t mix hard assets in the balance sheet with speculative estimates about the value of
unobserved intangible assets. Leave speculation to the analyst. See Box 2.4.
The practice of omitting or understating assets on the balance sheet is called conservative accounting. Conservative accounting says: Let’s be conservative in valuing assets;
let’s not speculate about the value of assets. So, if there is uncertainty about the value of an
asset, don’t book the asset at all. In practicing conservative accounting, accountants write
down assets, but they will not write up assets. You understand, then, why price-to-book
ratios are typically greater than 1.
Accounting Clinic
BASIC ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES
This chapter has provided an overview of the principles of
accounting. Much detail lurks behind the broad principles.
Not all will be required of a competent analyst but, as we
proceed with the fundamental analysis that is anchored in
the financial statements, accounting issues will arise.
Those issues will be addressed in the text but, in many
cases, the detail is too much to cover. So, on issues important to the equity analyst, you will be introduced to an
Accounting Clinic on the book’s Web site. The purpose of
I
these clinics is to help remedy your scant knowledge of
accounting, or to provide a review of material you have
covered in accounting courses. You might also want to
refer to the texts you have used in previous accounting
courses, to refresh your memory.
Accounting Clinic I expands on the basic principles of
accounting measurement that are laid out in this chapter.
The book’s Web site can be found at www.mhhe.com/
penman4e
Did Financial Statements Anchor Investors
During the Stock Market Bubble?
During the stock market bubble of 1998–2000, financial reporting came into question. Commentators claimed that the
traditional financial reporting model, developed during the Industrial Age, was no longer relevant for the Information Age.
Claims were made that “earnings no longer matter.” Balance
sheets were said to be useless because, in the “new economy,” value comes from knowledge assets and other intangibles that are omitted from balance sheets. To justify lofty
price-earnings ratios, technology analysts referred to metrics
such as clicks and page views rather than earnings. “Value reporting” that relies on soft information outside the financial
statements became the vogue. Was this bubble froth or are
these claims justified?
Speculative beliefs feed price bubbles. Speculation overlooks hard information and overemphasizes soft information.
The role of financial statements is to anchor the investor on
the rising tide of speculation with hard information. As we
proceed through the book we will learn how to anchor analysis in the financial statements. Consider the following:
• Losses reported by new economy firms during the bubble
turned out to be a good predictor: Most of these firms
failed. Earnings did matter.
• For firms that did survive, the earnings they reported during the bubble were a much better predictor of subsequent earnings than the speculative forecasts of analysts
pushing the stocks.
2.4
• Most of the intangible assets imagined by speculative analysts vaporized.
• The much-criticized balance sheets also provided good
forecasts. The ratio of debt assumed in pursuit of intangible assets (by telecoms, for example) was large relative to
tangible assets on the balance sheet, and that ratio predicted demise.
Financial reporting was rightly criticized after the bubble
burst, exposing the poor financial reporting practices of
Enron and Arthur Andersen, Xerox, Qwest, and WorldCom,
to mention a few. But the critique was one of accounting
that allowed speculation to enter the financial statements
(and in some cases the deviance of compromised management, directors, and auditors). The statements did not
anchor investors.
Good accounting serves as a check on speculation. Good
accounting challenges the pyramid scheme that bubbles perpetuate. Bad accounting perpetuates pyramid schemes. Bad
accounting creates false earnings momentum that feeds price
momentum. GAAP, unfortunately, does have features that
can be used to perpetuate bubbles. The fundamental analyst
is aware of these features and brings her quality-of-earnings
analysis to bear on the problem. We also will be aware, as we
proceed through the book, culminating in the accounting
quality analysis of Chapter 17.
Tension in Accounting
To measure value added from sales to customers, accountants match expenses with revenues.
The reliability criterion demands that revenues not be recognized until a customer is won.
But the reliability criterion also comes into play in matching expenses, and this creates
tension.
According to the reliability criterion, investment in assets with uncertain value cannot
be booked on the balance sheet. So GAAP requires that investments in R&D assets and
brand assets (developed through advertising) be expensed immediately in the income statement rather then booked to the balance sheet. The result is a mismatch: Current revenues
are charged with the investments to produce future revenues, and future revenues are not
charged with the (amortized) cost of earning those revenues. There is a tension between the
matching principle and the reliability criterion and, in the case of R&D and advertising,
GAAP comes down on the side of mismatching.
The reliability criterion is not absolute, however. Matching requires estimates, and the
reliability criterion allows estimates when they can be “reasonably” made. To calculate
earnings, accountants expense the estimated cost of not receiving cash from the sales, that
is, the cost of bad debts. The estimate of this cost is subjective and can be biased, but the
51
Convergence to International Financial
Reporting Standards
Accounting standards in the United States are issued by the
Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), subject to oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and
ultimately the United States Congress. Separately, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), based in London,
has promulgated a set of standards known as International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Partly because of conscious harmonization of activities between the FASB and IASB,
these standards are quite similar to those in the United States,
though details vary. In 2005, the European Union required
listed companies in Europe to conform to IFRS, and many
countries are adopting these international standards or are
likely to do so.
In August 2008, the SEC proposed that the United States
move to international accounting standards and invited public
comment on the proposal. The SEC also outlined a road map
for doing so. The road map targets mandatory adopting of
IFRS by 2014 but allows certain qualifying U.S. firms (up to
110 of the larger firms) to use IFRS as early as 2009. The SEC
2.5
laid down certain milestones that would have to be reached
for the 2014 objective to be met: (1) continued improvements
in IFRS accounting standards, (2) independent funding set up
for the IASB, (3) the ability for XBRL (Extensible Business
Reporting Language) to accept IFRS data, and (4) sufficient
progress in IFRS education and training in the United States.
Stay tuned.
The desire for uniform standards across the world is
understandable. Some, however, fear that giving a monopoly
to one standard setting agency is dangerous. Better, they say,
to have competing standards that the market can select from,
so that better standards rise to the top. Those advocating convergence say that might lead to a race to the bottom
As said, IFRS and U.S. GAAP are quite similar. Throughout
this book, we will highlight differences between the two
when they are important for the analysis at hand. Details of
other differences are on Web Supplement for each chapter.
For the moment, go to the Web Supplement for this chapter
for an introduction to IFRS.
estimate is allowed. To match depreciation of plant with the revenues that the plant produces, the accountant must estimate the useful life over which depreciation is calculated,
and that estimate is subjective. Estimates can be abused, so the tension in accounting becomes one of making the appropriate matching but possibly admitting biased estimates.
Auditors and corporate directors are, of course, a check on abuses if they pursue their job,
in an unbiased way, as fiduciaries for shareholders.
The analyst is aware of these tensions. He adapts to the mismatching introduced by
the reliability criterion and conservative accounting. And he develops diagnostics to
assess poor quality earnings that are biased by estimates. The quality of earnings is an
important issue in equity analysis and is an issue we will visit again and again as the
book proceeds.
Financial statements in the United States are currently prepared according to U.S.
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. But changes are in the wind. Go to Box 2.5
before closing this chapter.
Summary
52
Financial statements articulate in a way that tells a story. From the shareholder’s point of
view, the book value of equity in the balance sheet is the “bottom line” to the financial
statements. The accounting system tracks shareholders’ equity over time. Each period,
equity is updated by recognizing value added from business activities—comprehensive
income—and value paid out in net dividends. The statement of shareholders’ equity summarizes the tracking. The income statement (along with “other comprehensive income” in
the equity statement) gives the details of value added to the business by matching revenues (value received from customers) with expenses (value given up in servicing
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 53
customers). As well as tracking owners’ equity, the financial statements also track changes
in a firm’s cash position through the cash flow statement, where the change in cash is explained by cash generated in operations, cash spent on investments, and cash paid out in
financing activities.
The Web Connection
Find the following on the Web page supplement for this
chapter:
• An introduction to IFRS.
• Directions on how to find your way around the SEC’s
EDGAR database.
• Elaboration on how accounting relations help in building analysis tools.
• Summary of the filings that firms must make with the
SEC.
• More on historical P/B and P/E ratios.
• Directions to online services for recovering financial
statement information.
• XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is
coming to SEC filings. The Web page takes a look.
• Links to FASB and IASB documents.
• The Readers’ Corner provides a guide to further
reading.
• Web Exercises have additional exercises, along with
solutions, for you to work.
These features of the financial statements are expressed in a set of accounting relations
that define the structure of the statements. Commit these to memory, for they will come into
play as we organize the financial statements into spreadsheets for analysis. Indeed, they will
become rules that have to be obeyed as we develop forecasted financial statements for
valuation.
Accountants calculate the (book) value of equity, but the analyst is interested in the
(intrinsic) value of the equity. This chapter outlined the rules that determine the book
value of equity in the balance sheet. The chapter also outlined the rules that determine
value added—earnings—in the income statement. These rules lead to differences in prices
and book values, so understanding them gives you an understanding of price-to-book
ratios. The rules also explain why value added in the stock price is not recognized immediately in earnings, so you also have an understanding of the P/E ratio. That understanding will be enhanced as we establish the technology for determining intrinsic P/B and
P/E ratios.
Key Concepts
accounting relation is an equation that
expresses components of financial
statements in terms of other
components. 33
articulation of the financial statements
is the way they relate to each
other. 40
asset is an investment that is expected to
produce future payoffs. 34
capital gain is the amount by which the
price of an investment changes. 46
comprehensive income is total income
reported (in the income statement and
elsewhere in the financial statements). 39
54
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
conservative accounting is the practice of
recording relatively low values for net
assets on the balance sheets, or omitting
assets altogether. 50
dirty surplus accounting books income
in the equity statement rather than the
income statement. 39
expense is value given up in earning
revenue that is recognized in the financial
statements. 34
fair value is the term that accountants use
for the value of an asset or liability. Fair
value is market value, or an estimate of
market value when a liquid market does
not exist. 44
flows in financial statements are changes in
stocks between two points in time.
Compare with stocks. 40
historical cost accounting records assets
and liabilities at their historical cost,
then (in most cases) amortizes the
cost over periods to the income
statement. 44
intangible asset is an asset without
physical form. 45
liability is a claim on payoffs from the firm
other than by the owners. 34
mark-to-market accounting records
assets and liabilities at their market
value. 44
market value added is the amount by
which shareholder wealth increases in the
market, plus any dividend received. It is
equal to the stock return. 46
matching principle is the accounting
principle by which expenses are matched
with the revenues for which they are
incurred. 46
net payout is cash distributed to
shareholders. 39
reliability criterion is the accounting
principle that requires assets, liabilities,
revenues, and expenses to be booked
only if they can be measured with
reasonable precision based on objective
evidence. 49
revenue is value received from customers
that is recognized in the financial
statements. 34
revenue recognition principle is the
accounting principle by which revenues are
recognized in the income statement. 46
shareholder value added is the (intrinsic)
value added to shareholders’ wealth
during a period. 44
stock return is the return to holding a
share, and it is equal to the capital gain
plus dividend. 46
stockholders’ equity is the claim on
payoffs by the owners (the stockholders)
of the firm. 34
stocks in the financial statements are
balances at a point in time. Compare with
flows. 40
The Analyst’s Toolkit
Analysis Tools
Financial statements
Balance sheet
Income statement
Cash flow statement
Statement of shareholders’
equity
Financial statement
footnotes
Management’s discussion
and analysis
Page
34
34
38
39
40
40
Key Measures
Assets
Basic earnings per share (eps)
Book value of equity
Book value per share (bps)
Capital gain
Cash flow
From operations
From investing activities
From financing activities
Comprehensive income
Page
34
38
42
43
46
39
39
39
39
Acronyms to Remember
BPS book value per share
DPS dividends per share
ebit earnings before interest and
taxes
ebitda earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation, and
amortization
EPS earnings per share
FASB Financial Accounting
Standards Board
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 55
The Analyst’s Toolkit (concluded)
Analysis Tools
Page
Accounting relations
Balance sheet equation (2.1) 34
Income statement
equation (2.2)
34
Income statement component
equations (2.2a)
36
Cash flow statement
equation (2.3)
39
Stocks and flows
equation (2.4)
39
Comprehensive income
calculation (2.5)
39
Value equation (2.6)
42
Value added for shareholders
equation (2.7)
44
Market value added equation
(2.8)
44
Stock return equation (2.8a) 46
Key Measures
Page
Diluted earnings per share
Earnings
Earnings before interest and
taxes (ebit)
Earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, and
amortization (ebitda)
Expense
Fair value
Gross margin
Liabilities
Market value added
Net assets
Net income (or net profit)
Net payout
Operating income
Premium (or discount) over
book value
Price/earnings ratio (P/E)
Price-to-book ratio (P/B)
Revenue
Shareholder value added
Stock return
38
34
37
48
34
45
36
34
45
34
34
39
36
Acronyms to Remember
GAAP Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles
IASB International Accounting
Standards Board
IFRS International Reporting
Standards
NYSE New York Stock Exchange
P/B price-to-book ratio
P/E price-earnings ratio
R&D research and development
SEC Securities and Exchange
Commission
42
49
43
34
44
46
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
A Self-Study Exercise
In the Continuing Case for Chapter 1, you gained some appreciation of Kimberly-Clark’s
business, examined its recent stock price history, and discovered what analysts were saying
about the stock. It’s now time to turn to the financial statements, for it is on those statements
that a valuation is anchored. We will go into KMB’s financial statements in considerable
depth as the book proceeds. For now you need to familiarize yourself with the layout of
the statements and appreciate their main features. Exhibit 2.2 presents the firm’s 2004 annual financial statements, along with comparative numbers from prior years. As we proceed
with the firm through the book, we will be referring to more detail in the financial reports,
so you might download the full 2004 10-K from the SEC EDGAR Web site. If, for some
reason, you have difficulty downloading the 10-K, it is on the Web page for Chapter 7 on
the book’s Web site at www.mhhe.com/penman4e.
56
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
EXHIBIT 2.2
KIMBERLY-CLARK CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
Financial Statements
for Kimberly-Clark
Corporation for Year
Ending December 31,
2004
Consolidated Balance Sheet
December 31
2004
2003
2002
(Millions of dollars)
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Accounts receivable, net
Inventories
Deferred income taxes
Other current assets
$
594.0
2,038.3
1,670.9
278.2
380.5
$
290.6
1,955.1
1,563.4
281.4
347.6
$
494.5
2,005.9
1,430.1
191.3
205.9
Total current assets
4,961.9
4,438.1
4,327.7
Property, plant, and equipment, net
Investments in equity companies
Goodwill
Other assets
7,990.5
444.4
2,702.9
918.3
8,263.4
427.7
2,649.1
1,001.6
7,619.4
571.2
2,254.9
866.4
$17,018.0
$16,779.9
$15,639.6
$
864.3
857.9
283.5
1,374.7
367.2
171.1
$ 1,086.6
844.5
277.5
1,325.2
404.3
154.0
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities
Debt payable within one year
Trade accounts payable
Other payables
Accrued expenses
Accrued income taxes
Dividends payable
$ 1,214.7
983.2
265.5
1,431.6
448.0
194.2
Total current liabilities
4,537.2
3,918.7
4,092.1
Long-term debt
Noncurrent employee benefit and other obligations
Deferred income taxes
Minority owners interests in subsidiaries
Preferred securities of subsidiary
2,298.0
1,621.7
840.3
368.4
722.9
2,733.7
1,614.4
880.6
298.3
567.9
2,844.0
1,390.0
854.2
255.5
553.5
710.8
710.8
710.8
348.6
(5,047.5)
406.9
(3,818.1)
419.0
(3,350.6)
(1,226.0)
11,865.9
(22.3)
(1,565.4)
11,059.2
(27.1)
(2,157.7)
10,054.0
(25.2)
Stockholders’ equity
Preferred stock—no par value—authorized
20.0 million shares, none issued
Common stock—$1.25 par value—authorized
1.2 billion shares; issued 568.6 million shares at
December 31, 2004 and 2003
Additional paid-in capital
Common stock held in treasury, at cost—85.7
million and 67.0 million shares at
December 31, 2004 and 2003
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)
Retained earnings
Unearned compensation on restricted stock
Total stockholders’ equity
6,629.5
6,766.3
5,650.3
$17,018.0
$16,779.9
$15,639.6
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 57
Consolidated Income Statement
EXHIBIT 2.2
(Continued)
Year Ended December 31
2004
2003
2002
(Millions of dollars, except per share amounts)
$15,083.2
10,014.7
$14,026.3
9,231.9
$13,231.5
8,537.7
Gross profit
5,068.5
4,794.4
4,693.8
Marketing, research, and general expenses
Other (income) expense, net
2,510.9
51.2
2,350.3
112.5
2,251.8
73.7
Operating profit
2,506.4
2,331.6
2,368.3
(158.4)
17.9
(105.5)
18.0
—
15.7
Net sales
Cost of products sold
Nonoperating expense
Interest income
Interest expense
Income before income taxes, equity
interests, discontinued operations
and cumulative effect of accounting
change
Provision for income taxes
Share of net income of equity
companies
Minority owners share of
subsidiaries net income
Income from continuing operations
Income from discontinued operations,
net of income taxes
Income before cumulative effect of
accounting change
Cumulative effect of accounting
change, net of income taxes
Net income
Per share basis
Basic
Continuing operations
Discontinued operations
Cumulative effect of accounting change
Net income
Diluted
Continuing operations
(167.8)
(181.9)
2,076.3
2,202.1
(483.9)
124.8
(484.1)
107.0
(629.9)
113.3
(73.9)
(55.6)
(58.1)
1,770.4
29.8
1,643.6
50.6
1,627.4
58.6
1,800.2
1,694.2
1,686.0
—
—
$ 1,800.2
$ 1,694.2
$ 1,674.6
$
$
$
3.24
.10
—
3.34
$
$
3.58
.06
—
3.64
$
3.15
.11
(.02)
3.24
$
3.55
$
3.23
$
3.13
Discontinued operations
Cumulative effect of accounting change
Net income
(162.5)
2,203.4
.06
.10
—
$
3.61
(11.4)
.11
(.02)
—
$
3.33
$
3.22
(Continued )
58
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
EXHIBIT 2.2
(Continued)
Year Ended December 31
2004
2003
2002
(Millions of dollars)
Continuing operations:
Operating activities
Income from continuing operations
Depreciation and amortization
$1,770.4
800.3
$1,643.6
745.3
$1,627.4
704.4
Deferred income tax (benefit) provision
Net losses on asset dispositions
(19.4)
45.5
(50.8)
35.0
189.0
37.7
Equity companies earnings in excess of
dividends paid
(30.1)
(9.6)
(8.2)
Minority owners share of subsidiaries net income
Decrease (increase) in operating working capital
Postretirement benefits
Other
73.9
133.0
(54.4)
7.0
55.6
118.2
(59.9)
74.8
58.1
(197.8)
(118.5)
49.4
2,726.2
2,552.2
2,341.5
Investing activities
Capital spending
Acquisitions of businesses, net of cash acquired
Investments in marketable securities
Proceeds from sales of investments
Net increase in time deposits
Proceeds from dispositions of property
Other
(535.0)
—
(11.5)
38.0
(22.9)
30.7
5.3
(872.9)
(258.5)
(10.8)
29.4
(149.0)
7.6
(5.9)
(861.3)
(410.8)
(9.0)
44.9
(36.9)
4.8
(19.0)
Cash used for investing
(495.4)
(1,260.1)
(1,287.3)
Financing activities
Cash dividends paid
Net decrease in short-term debt
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt
Repayments of long-term debt
Proceeds from preferred securities of subsidiary
Proceeds from exercise of stock options
Acquisitions of common stock for the treasury
Other
(767.9)
(54.7)
38.7
(199.0)
125.0
290.0
(1,598.0)
(9.0)
(671.9)
(424.2)
540.8
(481.6)
—
31.0
(546.7)
(18.3)
(612.7)
(423.9)
823.1
(154.6)
—
68.9
(680.7)
(34.9)
Cash used for financing
(2,174.9)
(1,570.9)
(1,014.8)
4.1
18.6
14.7
60.0
(260.2)
54.1
Discontinued operations:
Cash provided by discontinued operations
Cash payment from Neenah Paper, Inc.
30.0
213.4
56.3
—
75.9
—
Cash provided by discontinued operations
243.4
56.3
75.9
303.4
290.6
$ 594.0
(203.9)
494.5
$ 290.6
130.0
364.5
$ 494.5
Cash provided by operations
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash
equivalents
Cash provided by (used for) continuing operations
Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year
Cash and cash equivalents, end of year
Balance at December 31, 2004
Dividends declared
Spin-off of Neenah Paper, Inc.
Balance at December 31, 2003
Net income
Other comprehensive income:
Unrealized translation gain
Minimum pension liability
Other
Total comprehensive income
Options exercised and other awards
Option and restricted share income
tax benefits
Shares repurchased
Net issuance of restricted stock,
less amortization
710.8
—
—
—
—
568,597
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
710.8
—
568,597
—
348.6
—
—
—
(0.3)
(88.9)
30.9
—
—
—
406.9
—
Additional
Paid-in
Capital
85,694
—
—
25,061
(136)
(6,239)
—
—
—
—
67,008
—
(5,047.5)
—
—
(1,617.3)
9.0
378.9
—
—
—
—
(3,818.1)
—
Treasury Stock
Shares Amount
(22.3)
—
—
—
4.8
—
—
—
—
—
(27.1)
—
Unearned
Compensation
on Restricted
Stock
11,865.9
(791.0)
(202.5)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
11,059.2
1,800.2
Retained
Earnings
(1,226.0)
—
(24.4)
—
—
—
—
415.8
(47.8)
(4.2)
(1,565.4)
—
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income (Loss)
415.8
(47.8)
(4.2)
$2,164.0
$1,800.2
Comprehensive
Income
(Concluded)
Common Stock
Issued
Shares
Amount
Consolidated Statement of Shareholders’ Equity
(Dollars in millions, shares in thousands)
EXHIBIT 2.2
59
60
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
THE FORM AND CONTENT OF KIMBERLY-CLARK’S
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Go through the firm’s four statements and show that each of the accounting relations in this
chapter—2.1 to 2.5—are obeyed in 2004. Be sure to identify comprehensive income and
net payout to shareholders. Satisfy yourself that the cash flow statement reconciles to the
opening and closing cash balances, as in Figure 2.1, and how the income statement reconciles to the shareholders’ equity statement, as also shown in Figure 2.1. Can you “tell the
story” of what the financial statements, as a whole, are depicting?
Look at Kimberley-Clark’s balance sheet and tick off those assets and liabilities that you
think are reported close to their fair value. On what basis are the remaining items measured? From your investigation of the firm in the Chapter 1 case, what assets do you conjecture are missing from the balance sheet? What items in the income statement involve the
most mismatching of revenues to expenses?
MARKET VALUES AND MARKET MULTIPLES
You saw in the Chapter 1 case that KMB traded at $64.81 in March 2005, just after its 2004
annual report was published. Using this number and others from the statements, calculate
the total market value of the equity. For this you will need to identify shares outstanding;
remember that shares outstanding are not the same as shares issued. Calculate the premium
or discount at which KMB trades relative to book value. Also calculate the price-to-book
ratio (P/B) and the price-earnings ratio (P/E). Can you provide some explanation for the
size of these ratios?
Using the value equation (2.6) and information in the financial statements, make the best
calculation you can for the value of the firm (enterprise value). KMB traded at $62 per
share 12 months prior to March 2005 and paid a dividend of $1.60 per share over the year.
What was the rate of return on the stock for the year?
Concept
Questions
C2.1. Changes in shareholders’ equity are determined by total earnings minus net payout
to shareholders, but the change in shareholders’ equity is not equal to net income
(in the income statement) minus net payout to shareholders. Why?
C2.2. Dividends are the only way to pay cash out to shareholders. True or False?
C2.3. Explain the difference between net income and net income available to common.
Which definition of income is used in earnings-per-share calculations?
C2.4. Why might a firm trade at a price-to-book ratio (P/B) greater than 1.0?
C2.5. Explain why firms have different price-earnings (P/E) ratios.
C2.6. Explain the difference between accounting value added (earnings) and shareholder
value added.
C2.7. Give some examples in which there is poor matching of revenues and expenses.
C2.8. Price-to-book ratios are determined by how accountants measure book values. Can
you think of accounting reasons for why price-to-book ratios were high in the
1990s? What other factors might explain the high P/B ratios?
C2.9. Why are dividends not an expense in the income statement?
C2.10. Why is depreciation of plant and equipment an expense in the income statement?
C2.11. Is amortization of a patent right an appropriate expense in measuring value added
in operations?
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 61
C2.12. Why is the matching principle important?
C2.13. Why do fundamental analysts want accountants to follow the reliability criterion
when preparing financial reports?
Exercises
Drill Exercises
E2.1.
Applying Accounting Relations: Balance Sheet, Income Statement,
and Equity Statement (Easy)
The following questions pertain to the same firm.
a. The balance sheet reports $400 million in total assets and $250 million in shareholders’ equity at the end of a fiscal period. What are the firm’s liabilities?
b. The income statement reports $30 million in net income and $175 million in total
expenses for the period. What are the firm’s revenues?
c. The shareholders’ equity statement has a beginning balance for the period of $230 million and the firm had a net payout to shareholders of $12 million. What is the firm’s
comprehensive income for the year? How much income is reported in the equity statement rather than the income statement?
d. There were no share issues or stock repurchases during the year. How much did the
firm pay in dividends?
E2.2.
Applying Accounting Relations: Cash Flow Statement (Easy)
A firm reported $130 million increase in cash over a year. It also reported $400 million in
cash flow from operations, and a net $75 million paid out to claimants in financing activities. How much did the firm invest in operations?
E2.3.
The Financial Statements for a Bank Savings Account (Medium)
You received the following statement for 2009 for your savings account at a bank. Cash
balances in the account earn interest at a 5 percent rate per annum.
Balance, January 1, 2009
Earnings at an interest rate of 5% p.a.
Withdrawals
Balance, December 31, 2009
$100
5
(5)
100
This statement is effectively a statement of owner’s equity for the account. It shows
your starting balance, adds your earnings for the year, and subtracts your dividend (the
withdrawal), to yield a closing balance.
a. Prepare an income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement for this account
for 2009.
b. Rather than withdrawing $5 from the account, suppose you left it in the account. What
would your financial statements for 2009 then look like?
c. If, before the end of the year, you instructed your bank to invest the earnings of $5 in a
mutual fund (and there were no withdrawals), what would the final financial statements
look like?
E2.4.
Preparing an Income Statement and Statement
of Shareholders’ Equity (Medium)
From the following information for the year 2009, prepare an income statement and a statement of shareholders’ equity, under GAAP rules, for a company with shareholders’ equity
at the beginning of 2009 of $3,270 million. Amounts are in millions.
62
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
Sales
Common dividends paid
Selling expenses
Research and development costs
Cost of goods sold
Share issues
Unrealized gain on securities available for sale
Income taxes
$4,458
140
1,230
450
3,348
680
76
(200)
Also calculate comprehensive income and net payout. Income taxes are negative. How can
this be?
E2.5.
Classifying Accounting Items (Easy)
Indicate where in the financial statements the following appear under GAAP:
a. Investment in a certificate of deposit maturing in 120 days.
b. Expenses for bad debts.
c. Allowances for bad debts.
d. Research and development expenditures.
e. A restructuring charge.
f. A lease of an asset for its entire productive life.
g. Unrealized gain on shares held for trading purposes.
h. Unrealized gain on shares available for sale.
i. Unearned revenue.
j. Preferred stock issued.
k. Preferred dividends paid.
l. Stock option compensation expense.
E2.6.
Violations of the Matching Principle (Easy)
Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) notionally follow the matching principle. However, there are exceptions. Explain why the following accounting rules, required
under GAAP, violate the matching principle.
a. Expenditures on research and development into new drugs are expensed in the income
statement as they are incurred.
b. Advertising and promotion costs for a new product are expensed as incurred.
c. Film production costs are expensed prior to the release of films to theaters.
E2.7.
Using Accounting Relations to Check Errors (Hard)
A chief executive reported the following numbers for fiscal year 2009 to an annual meeting
of shareholders (in millions):
Revenues
Total expenses, including taxes
Other comprehensive income
Total assets, end of year
Total liabilities, end of year
Dividends to shareholders
Share issues
Share repurchases
Shareholders’ equity, beginning of year
$ 2,300
1,750
(90)
4,340
1,380
400
900
150
19,140
Show that at least one of these numbers must be wrong because it does not obey accounting
relations.
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 63
Applications
E2.8.
Finding Financial Statement Information on the Internet (Easy)
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) maintains the EDGAR database of company filings with the commission. Explore the SEC’S EDGAR site:
http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
Look at the “Descriptions of SEC Forms” page to familiarize yourself with the types of filings that firms make. Then click on “Search for Company Filings” for the filings of firms
you are interested in. Forms 10-K (annual reports) and 10-Q (quarterly reports) will be of
primary interest.
Accessing the database directly on the SEC site gives you the full text of each filing.
A number of services deliver the material in small, digestible pieces so you don’t have
to scroll through the entire filing in search of a particular item. These services also format the filing in a form that can be downloaded into a spreadsheet program. Access these
sites through links on the book’s Web page.
E2.9.
Using Accounting Relations: General Mills, Inc. (Medium)
The following numbers appeared in the annual report of General Mills, Inc., the consumer
foods manufacturer, for the fiscal year ending May 2008 (in millions of dollars):
Fiscal 2008
Total assets
Total stockholders’ equity
Total revenues
Common share issues
Common dividends
Common stock repurchases
19,042
6,216
13,652
1,133
530
1,385
Fiscal 2007
18,184
5,319
12,442
504
505
1,385
The firm has no preferred stock.
For fiscal 2008, calculate
a. Total liabilities at year end.
b. Comprehensive income for the year.
Real World Connection
See Exercises E1.5, E2.9, E3.9, E4.9, E6.8, E10.9, E13.5, E14.8, and E15.10 for the material on General Mills.
E2.10.
Using Accounting Relations: Genentech Inc. (Medium)
Consider the following excerpts from Genentech’s 2004 income statement and cash flow
statement. From the 2004 income statement (in millions):
Revenues
Costs and expenses
Cost of sales
Research and development
Marketing, general, and administrative
Collaboration profit sharing
Special charges
Other expense—net interest income
Income before tax
Income tax
Net income
?
$ 672.5
947.5
1,088.1
593.6
182.7
(82.6)
1,219.4
434.6
784.8
64
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
From the 2004 cash flow statement (in thousands):
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income
$
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization
Deferred income taxes
Deferred revenue
Litigation-related and other long-term liabilities
Tax benefit from employee stock options
Gain on sales of securities available for sale and other
Loss on sales of securities available for sale
Write-down of securities available for sale
Loss on fixed asset dispositions
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Receivables and other current assets
Inventories
Investments in trading securities
Accounts payable and other current liabilities
784,816
353,221
(73,585)
(14,927)
34,722
329,470
(13,577)
1,839
12,340
5,115
(362,740)
(120,703)
(75,695)
335,542
$1,195,838
Net cash provided by operating activities
For 2004, calculate
a. Revenues.
b. ebit (earnings before interest and taxes).
c. ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization).
The following were reported in Genentech’s 2004 balance sheet (in millions):
Current assets
Total assets
Long-term liabilities
Stockholders’ equity
$3,422.8
9,403.4
1,377.9
6,782.2
d. Calculate the long-term assets and short-term liabilities that were reported.
The following were also reported in the 2004 statements (in millions):
2004
Cash used in investing activities (in the cash flow statement)
Cash and cash equivalents (in the balance sheet)
$451.6
270.1
2003
$1,398.4
372.2
e. Calculate cash flows from financing activities reported for 2004.
E2.11.
Find the Missing Numbers in the Equity Statement: Cisco Systems, Inc. (Easy)
At the end of its 2007 fiscal year, Cisco Systems, Inc., the producer of routers and other hardware and software for the telecommunications industry, reported shareholders’ equity of
$31,931 million. At the end of the first nine months of fiscal 2008, the firm reported $32,304
million in equity along with $6,526 million of comprehensive income for the period.
a. What was the net transactions with shareholders in the first nine months of 2008?
b. Cisco paid no dividends and share issues amounted to $2,869 million. What was the
amount of shares repurchased during the first nine months of 2008?
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 65
Real World Connection
Exercise 14.12 and Minicases 5.1, 6.1, and 14.2 deal with Cisco Systems.
E2.12.
Find the Missing Numbers in Financial Statements: General Motors
Corporation (Medium)
General Motors ended its 2007 year with shareholders’ equity of $37,094 million at
December 31 (yes, negative equity!). Six months later, at June 30, 2008, it reported
$56,990 million in equity after paying a dividend of $283 million to shareholders. There
were no other transactions with shareholders.
a. What was comprehensive income for the six months?
b. The income statement reported a loss of $18,722 million for the six months. What was
“other comprehensive income”?
c. Total expense and other losses in the income statement, including taxes, were $60,895
million. What was revenue for the six months?
d. The firm reported $148,883 million of total assets at the end of 2007 and $136,046 at
June 30, 2008. What were total liabilities at these two dates?
e. How can a firm have negative equity?
Real World Connection
Exercises 4.10 and 5.16 also cover General Motors.
E2.13.
Mismatching at WorldCom (Hard)
During the four fiscal quarters of 2001 and the first quarter of 2002, WorldCom incorrectly
capitalized access charges to local networks as assets (as explained in Box 2.3). The
amount of costs capitalized were as follows:
First quarter, 2001
Second quarter, 2001
Third quarter, 2001
Fourth quarter, 2001
First quarter, 2002
$780 million
$605 million
$760 million
$920 million
$790 million
Suppose WorldCom amortized these capitalized costs straight-line over five years
(20 quarters). Calculate the amount of the overstatement of income before tax for each of
the five quarters.
E2.14.
Calculating Stock Returns: Nike, Inc. (Easy)
The shares of Nike, Inc., traded at $55 per share at the beginning of fiscal year 2008 and
closed at $67 per share at the end of the year. Nike paid a dividend of 87.5 cents per share
during the year. What was the return to holding Nike’s shares during 2008?
Real World Connection
Nike is covered extensively in this book, both in text material and exercises. See exercises
6.7, 8.13, 13.17, 13.18, 15.11, 15.13, 18.5, and 19.4 and minicase 2.1 in this chapter.
66
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
Minicase
M2.1
Reviewing the Financial Statements
of Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc., is a leading manufacturer and marketer of sport and fashion footwear. Incorporated
in 1968 and headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, its brand name has become almost universal, delivering sales of over $18.5 billion by 2008 and making it the largest seller of athletic
footwear and apparel in the world, with operations in 180 countries. Nike’s top-selling product
categories are running, basketball, and cross-training shoes, but it also markets shoes designed
for tennis, golf, soccer, baseball, football, bicycling, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, skateboarding, hiking, and outdoor activity. Many of its products are sold as leisurewear.
In the 1990s Nike was a hot stock, trading at a P/E ratio of 35 and a P/B ratio of 5.1 in
mid-1999. By 2008, its P/E ratio had fallen to 16 and its P/B ratio to 3.8, but its stock price
actually increased during the bursting of the bubble, from $20 in 2000 to $40 in 2004.
We will spend considerable time in the book analyzing and valuing Nike. The Build
Your Own Analysis Product (BYOAP) on the Web site tracks Nike from 1996 to 2006.
The 2008 financial statements (and comparative 2007 and 2006 statements) that follow
introduce you to the firm. You also can find these financial statements in Nike’s 10-K report
for 2008 on the SEC’s EDGAR Web site, which is accessible through the address given in
Exercise 2.8, or through links on the book’s Web site. Browse the entire 10-K as an example of what a typical 10-K looks like. Look at the footnotes referred to in the statements
below. Read the management’s discussion of the business and get a sense of the business
model. Look also at the firm’s Web site at www.nike.com.
Examine the financial statements in Exhibit 2.3 and use them to test your basic knowledge
of accounting. The questions that follow will help you focus on the pertinent features.
A. Using the numbers in the financial statements, show that the following accounting relations hold in Nike’s 2008 statements:
Shareholders’ equity = Assets – Liabilities
Net income = Revenue – Expenses
Cash from operations + Cash from investment + Cash from financing + Effect
of exchange rate = Change in cash and cash equivalents
B. What are the components of other comprehensive income for 2008? Show that the
following accounting relation holds:
Comprehensive income = Net income + Other comprehensive income
C. Calculate the net payout to shareholders in 2008 from the Statement of Shareholders’
Equity.
D. Explain how revenue is recognized.
E. Calculate the following for 2008: gross margin, effective tax rate, ebit, ebitda, and the
sales growth rate.
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 67
F. Explain the difference between basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share.
G. Explain why some inventory costs are in cost of goods sold and some are in inventory
on the balance sheet.
H. Nike spent $2,308 million on advertising and promotion during 2008. Where is this cost
included in the financial statements? Does this treatment satisfy the matching principle?
I. Accounts receivable for 2008 of $2,795 million is net of $78.4 million (reported in
footnotes). How is this calculation made?
J. Why are deferred income taxes both an asset and a liability?
K. What is “goodwill” and how is it accounted for? Why did it change in 2008 but not in
2007?
L. Why are commitments and contingencies listed on the balance sheet, yet the amount is
zero?
M. Explain why there is a difference between net income and cash provided by operations.
N. What items in Nike’s balance sheet would you say were close to fair market value?
O. Nike’s shares traded at $62 after the 2008 report was filed. Calculate the P/E ratio and
the P/B ratio at this price. How do these ratios compare with historical P/E and P/B
ratios in Figures 2.2 and 2.3?
Real World Connection
Follow Nike through Chapters 5–15 and on the BYOAP feature on the book’s Web site. See
also Exercises 2.14, 6.7, 8.13, 13.17, 13.18, 15.11, 15.13, 18.5, and 19.4.
EXHIBIT 2.3
NIKE, INC.
Financial Statements
for Nike, Inc. for Year
Ending May 31, 2008
Consolidated Statements of Income
Year Ended May 31
2008
2007
2006
(in millions, except per-share data)
Revenues
Cost of sales
Gross margin
Selling and administrative expense
Interest income, net (Notes 1, 6, and 7)
Other (expense) income, net (Notes 15 and 16)
$18,627.0
10,239.6
8,387.4
5,953.7
77.1
(7.9)
$16,325.9
9,165.4
7,160.5
5,028.7
67.2
0.9
$14,954.9
8,367.9
6,587.0
4,477.8
36.8
(4.4)
Income before income taxes
Income taxes (Note 8)
Net income
2,502.9
619.5
$ 1,883.4
2,199.9
708.4
$ 1,491.5
2,141.6
749.6
$ 1,392.0
Basic earnings per common share (Notes 1 and 11)
Diluted earnings per common share (Notes 1 and 11)
Dividends declared per common share
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
3.80
3.74
0.875
2.96
2.93
0.71
2.69
2.64
0.59
(Continued )
68
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements
Consolidated Balance Sheets
May 31
EXHIBIT 2.3
(Continued)
2008
2007
(in millions)
2006
$ 2,133.9
642.2
2,795.3
$ 1,856.7
990.3
2,494.7
$ 954.2
1,348.8
2,395.9
2,438.4
227.2
602.3
2,121.9
219.7
393.2
2,076.7
203.3
380.1
8,839.3
1,891.1
743.1
448.8
520.4
$12,442.7
8,076.5
1,678.3
409.9
130.8
392.8
$10,688.3
7,359.0
1,657.7
405.5
130.8
316.6
9,869.6
$
30.5
100.8
1,040.3
1,303.4
109.0
255.3
43.4
952.2
1,286.9
85.5
3,321.5
2,584.0
2,623.3
441.1
854.5
—
409.9
668.7
—
410.7
550.1
—
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and equivalents
Short-term investments
Accounts receivable, net
Inventories (Note 2)
Deferred income taxes (Note 8)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Total current assets
Property, plant, and equipment, net (Note 3)
Identifiable intangible assets, net (Note 4)
Goodwill (Note 4)
Deferred income taxes and other assets (Note 8)
Total assets
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt (Note 7)
Notes payable (Note 6)
Accounts payable (Note 6)
Accrued liabilities (Notes 5 and 16)
Income taxes payable
Total current liabilities
Long-term debt (Note 7)
Deferred income taxes and other liabilities (Note 8)
Commitments and contingencies (Notes 14 and 16)
Redeemable preferred stock (Note 9)
$
6.3
177.7
1,287.6
1,761.9
88.0
0.3
0.3
0.3
Shareholders’ equity:
Common stock at stated value (Note 10):
Class A convertible—96.8 and 117.6 shares
outstanding
Class B—394.3 and 384.1 shares outstanding
Capital in excess of stated value
0.1
2.7
2,497.8
0.1
2.7
1,960.0
0.1
2.7
1,451.4
Accumulated other comprehensive income (Note 13)
Retained earnings
251.4
5,073.3
177.4
4,885.2
117.6
4,713.4
7,825.3
$12,442.7
7,025.4
$10,688.3
6,285.2
9869.6
Total shareholders’ equity
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity
Chapter 2 Introduction to the Financial Statements 69
EXHIBIT 2.3
(Continued)
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Year Ended May 31
Cash provided (used) by operations:
Net income
Income charges not affecting cash:
Depreciation
Deferred income taxes
Stock-based compensation (Notes 1 and 10)
Gain on divestitures (Note 15)
Amortization and other
Income tax benefit from exercise of stock options
Changes in certain working capital components
and other assets and liabilities excluding the
impact of acquisition and divestitures:
Increase in accounts receivable
Increase in inventories
Increase in prepaid expenses and other
current assets
Increase in accounts payable, accrued liabilities
and income taxes payable
2008
2007
(in millions)
$ 1,883.4
$ 1,491.5
$ 1,392.0
303.6
(300.6)
141.0
(60.6)
17.9
—
269.7
34.1
147.7
—
0.5
—
282.0
(26.0)
11.8
—
(2.9)
54.2
(118.3)
(249.8)
(39.6)
(49.5)
(85.1)
(200.3)
(11.2)
(60.8)
(37.2)
Cash provided by operations
Cash provided (used) by investing activities:
Purchases of short-term investments
Maturities of short-term investments
Additions to property, plant, and equipment
Disposals of property, plant, and equipment
Increase in other assets, net of other liabilities
Acquisition of subsidiary, net of cash acquired
(Note 15)
Proceeds from divestitures (Note 15)
Cash (used) provided by investing activities
Cash provided (used) by financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt
Reductions in long-term debt, including current
portion
Increase (decrease) in notes payable
Proceeds from exercise of stock options and other
stock issuances
Excess tax benefits from share-based payment
arrangements
Repurchase of common stock
Dividends—common and preferred
Cash used by financing activities
Effect of exchange rate changes
Net increased (decrease) in cash and equivalents
Cash and equivalents, beginning of year
Cash and equivalents, end of year
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash paid during the year for:
Interest, net of capitalized interest
Income taxes
Dividends declared and not paid
2006
330.9
85.1
279.4
1,936.3
1,878.7
1,667.9
(1,865.6)
2,246.0
(449.2)
1.9
(21.8)
(2,133.8)
2,516.2
(313.5)
28.3
(4.3)
(2,619.7)
1,709.8
(333.7)
1.6
(34.6)
(571.1)
246.0
(413.8)
—
—
92.9
—
—
(1,276.6)
—
41.8
—
(35.2)
63.7
(255.7)
52.6
(6.0)
(18.2)
343.3
322.9
225.3
63.0
(1,248.0)
(412.9)
(1,226.1)
(19.2)
277.2
1,856.7
$ 2,133.9
55.8
(985.2)
(343.7)
(1,111.5)
42.4
902.5
954.2
$ 1,856.7
—
(761.1)
(290.9)
(850.9)
25.7
(433.9)
1,388.1
$ 954.2
$
$
$
44.1
717.5
112.9
60.0
601.l
92.9
54.2
752.6
79.4
(Continued )
70
$2.7
$2.497.8
(2.3)
141.0
39.2
(12.3)
372.2
$1,960.0
127.7
127.7
The notes in these financial statements refer to footnotes in the 10-K report
Balance at May 31, 2008
$251.4
$5,073.3
$7,825.3
(10.1)
(15.6)
1,957.4
(43.5)
(43.5)
1,883.4
(175.8)
(175.8)
74.0
(46.3)
(46.3)
1,883.4
(3.4)
141.0
39.2
(432.8)
(1,248.0)
—
372.2
$7,025.4
211.9
1,883.4
(1.1)
(432.8)
(1,235.7)
$4,885.2
Total
211.9
$177.4
Retained
Earnings
(10.1)
394.3
$2.7
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income (Loss)
Adoption of EITF 06-2 Sabbaticals (net
of tax benefit of $6.2) (Note 1)
96.8
(0.1)
1.0
(20.6)
20.8
9.1
384.1
Amount
Class B
Shares
Capital in
Excess of
Stated Value
(15.6)
$0.1
$0.1
117.6
(20.8)
Amount
Shares
Class A
Common Stock
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity
(in millions, except per share data)
Adoption of FIN 48 (Notes 1 and 8)
Comprehensive income
Comprehensive income (Note 13):
Net income
Other comprehensive income:
Foreign currency translation and
other (net of tax expense of $101.6)
Realized foreign currency
translation gain due to
divestiture (Note 15)
Net loss on cash flow hedges (net
of tax benefit of $67.7)
Net loss on net investment hedges
(net of tax benefit of $25.1)
Reclassification to net income of
previously deferred losses related to
hedge derivatives (net of tax benefit of $49.6)
Forfeiture of shares from employees
Stock-based compensation (Notes 1 and 10):
Issuance of shares to employees
Dividends on common stock ($0.875 per share)
Repurchase of Class B common stock
Conversion to Class B common stock
Stock options exercised
Balance at May 31, 2007
(Concluded)
EXHIBIT 2.3
Part One
Chapter 3
Lays out the alternative
ways in which financial
statements are used
for valuation, and shows
how valuation models
direct how to account
for value.
Chapter 4
Introduces cash accounting
and accrual accounting
for valuation, and lays
out discounted cash flow
valuation methods
that employ cash
accounting.
Chapter 5
Introduces valuation
methods that anchor
equity values on book
values and lead to an
evaluation of the
intrinsic price-to-book
ratio.
Chapter 6
Introduces valuation
methods that anchor
equity values on earnings
and lead to an evaluation
of the intrinsic
price-earnings ratio.
With the foundations
established in Part One,
proceed to
The Analysis of
Financial Statements
(Part Two)
Forecasting, Valuation,
and Strategy
(Part Three)
Financial Statements
and Valuation
The analyst must choose a technology with which to work. This part of the book
lays out alternative techniques that can be employed in equity analysis. The diligent
analyst wants the best technology, so the material goes to lengths to contrast the
advantages and disadvantages of each technique. By the end of Part Two, you will
have chosen a technology with which you feel comfortable, one that gives you the
security that is necessary for equity investing.
In order to make the appropriate choice, you must have an understanding of the
basic principles of fundamental analysis and investing. This part of the book
develops that understanding. Crucial to this understanding is an appreciation of the
role of a valuation model, for a valuation model directs how analysis is to be done
and how valuations are to be carried out. You will understand that valuation
models—though often expressed in seemingly cryptic formulas—are really a way
of thinking about the analysis and valuation task. You will also understand that a
valuation model is actually a statement about how to account for value, thereby
tying valuation to the financial statements. You will then see how we accomplish
our objective (in Chapter 1) of anchoring value on the financial statements.
Chapter 3 introduces valuation models based on the financial statements, but not
before laying out alternative ways of carrying out equity analysis. The chapter
describes the method of comparables, multiple screening analysis, and asset-based
valuation. These simple schemes are shown to be lacking, and their use comes with
the warning that ignoring the principles of sound fundamental analysis is done at
one’s peril. With the introduction to valuation models in this chapter you will develop
an appreciation for how financial statements are utilized in fundamental analysis.
Chapter 4 introduces dividend discounting and discounted cash flow analysis and
shows that these valuation techniques embrace cash accounting for value. It
identifies the deficiencies of cash accounting (and discounted cash flow analysis) as
a method of accounting for value, leading you to an appreciation of how accrual
accounting corrects the deficiencies of cash accounting. The discussion of accrual
accounting in this chapter builds on the discussion of accounting in Chapter 2,
further enhancing your understanding of how accounting works for valuation.
The two “bottom-line” numbers in accrual accounting financial statements are
the book value of equity—the bottom-line number in the balance sheet—and
earnings (income)—the bottom-line number in the income statement. It is on these
two numbers that accrual accounting valuation is anchored. Chapter 5 shows how
to value a firm by anchoring value on book value. Chapter 2 showed that book
values are typically an imperfect measure of value, but they provide a starting point
for valuation. Using book value as a starting point, Chapter 5 goes on to show how
the analyst adds value to complete the valuation, determining the intrinsic price-tobook (P/B) ratio. In a complementary way, Chapter 6 shows how to anchor a
valuation on earnings, thus determining the intrinsic price-earnings (P/E) ratio.
The purpose of this part of the book is to give you perspective on the issues and
to emphasize some important concepts. Above all, it gets you thinking about design
issues in developing valuation tools. Some of the concepts will be familiar to you
from finance courses. Some will be familiar from accounting courses. The
accounting and finance concepts come together here. In finance, people talk of
valuation. In accounting, people talk of measurement. But valuation is a matter of
measurement (of value generated in the firm). So, in discussing valuation principles,
we also introduce the principles of accounting measurement. The point is to show
you how accounting works—or maybe doesn’t work—to reveal the value in a firm.
And we will see how accounting is integrated into valuation analysis so that
fundamental analysis and financial statement analysis are much the same thing.
Part Two and subsequent parts of the book are about technique. They are about
doing financial statement analysis and fundamental analysis. Part One of the book is
less about doing and more about thinking about doing. “Look before you leap”
applies to investing but it also applies to the analysis of investing. Sometimes the
word “sage” is applied to certain investors, and with good cause. Good techniques
must be applied with good judgment, with wisdom. And wisdom helps in the
selection of techniques. If you read The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, the
acclaimed father of fundamental analysis, you will see that the book is more about
attitude and approach to investing than it is about technique.1 Use this part of the
book to understand the basics and use it to cultivate wisdom in investing. We
purposefully develop the material slowly, so you can read it in a considered way.
1
B. Graham, The Intelligent Investor, 4th rev. ed. (New York: Harper & Row, 1973).
Chapter Three
LINKS
Link to previous chapters
Chapter 1 introduced
fundamental analysis
and Chapter 2 introduced
the financial statements.
How Financial
Statements Are
Used in Valuation
This chapter
This chapter shows how
fundamental analysis and
valuation are carried out
and how the financial
statements are utilized in
the process. It lays out a
five-step approach to
fundamental analysis that
involves the analysis and
forecasting of financial
statements. Simpler
schemes involving financial
statements are also
presented.
Link to next chapter
Chapter 4 deals with
valuation based on
forecasting cash flows.
Link to Web page
The Web page supplement
offers further treatment of
comparables analysis and
screening analysis, as
well as an extended
discussion of valuation
techniques and asset
pricing. It also links you
to fundamental
research engines.
What is
the method
of
comparables?
What is
asset-based
valuation?
How are
fundamental
screens used
in
investing?
How is
fundamental
analysis
carried out?
How does
fundamental
analysis
utilize the
financial
statements?
How is a
valuation
model
constructed?
This chapter explains how financial statements are used in valuing firms. It is an important
chapter, for it sets the stage for developing practical valuation analysis in Chapters 4, 5, and 6.
Indeed, the material in the second half of the chapter provides a road map for much of what
follows in the rest of the book. As you proceed through the book, you will find yourself
looking back to this material to maintain your bearings.
In introducing valuation in Chapter 1, we said that the analyst’s first order of business is
to choose a technology to work with. You will not be able to commit to a technology until
the end of Chapter 6, but this chapter raises the issues involved in making that choice. It
lays out the architecture of a competent valuation technology. Here you will develop an
appreciation of what a good technology looks like, and you will begin to understand the
pitfalls that await those using misguided methods. You also will understand what features
of firms are relevant to their valuation, how these features are identified by a competent
valuation method, and how they are recognized in financial statements.
In valuation, as with most technologies, there is always a tradeoff between simple
approaches that ignore some pertinent features and more elaborate techniques that accommodate complexities. In this book we will always be pushing for the simple approaches, but
simple approaches that do not substantially sacrifice the quality of the product. Simple approaches are cheap—they avoid some analysis work—but they can be too cheap, leading to
errors. In adopting a simple approach, we want to be sure we know what we are missing
relative to a full-fledged analysis. So this chapter begins with simple schemes that use
financial statements and progresses to more formal valuation methods. At all points, the
tradeoffs are indicated.
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
75
The Analyst’s Checklist
After reading this chapter you should understand:
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
• What a valuation technology looks like.
• Carry out a multiple comparison analysis.
• What a valuation model is and how it differs from an
asset pricing model.
• Develop a simple or multiple screen using a stock
screener.
• How a valuation model provides the architecture for
fundamental analysis.
• Calculate an array of price multiples for a firm.
• The practical steps involved in fundamental analysis.
• Calculate trailing and forward P/E ratios.
• How the financial statements are involved in fundamental analysis.
• Calculate a dividend-adjusted P/E ratio.
• How one converts a forecast to a valuation.
• Calculate the breakup value of a firm.
• The difference between valuing terminal investments
and going concern investments (like business firms).
• Value a bond.
• What business activities generate value.
• The dividend irrelevance concept.
• Why financing transactions do not generate value,
except in particular circumstances.
• Why the focus of value creation is on the investing and
operating activities of a firm.
• How the method of comparables works (or does not
work).
• Calculate unlevered price multiples.
• Apply asset-based valuation techniques.
• Value a project.
• Calculate the value added from project selection.
• Show that a bond purchased at a price to yield its
required return generates no value.
• Calculate the loss to existing shareholders from issuing
shares at less than market value.
• Generate “homemade dividends.”
• How asset-based valuation works (or does not work).
• How multiple screening strategies work (or do not
work).
• How fundamental analysis differs from screening.
• What is involved in contrarian investing.
Simple valuations use a limited amount of information. The chapter begins with multiple analysis that uses just a few numbers in the financial statements—sales, earnings, or
book values, for example—and applies pricing multiples to these numbers. Asset-based
valuation techniques are then introduced. These techniques attempt to value equities by
summing the market value of the firms’ assets, net of liabilities. We will see that asset-based
valuation, though seemingly simple, is a doubtful exercise for most firms.
Simple methods run the risk of ignoring relevant information. A full-fledged fundamental analysis identifies all the relevant information and extracts the implications of that
information for valuing the firm. The chapter concludes with a broad outline of fundamental analysis technologies that accomplish this. It leads you through the five steps
involved and shows how financial statements are incorporated in the process. It stresses
the importance of adopting a valuation model that captures value created in the firm and
shows how that valuation model provides the architecture for fundamental analysis. The
chapter distinguishes valuation models for terminal investments from those for goingconcern investments (like business firms), and it shows how valuing going concerns raises
particular problems.
76
Part One
Financial Statements and Valuation
While The Analyst’s Checklist for Chapter 3 indicates that there is much you will be able
to do after reading this chapter, the primary goal of the chapter is to provoke your thinking
as to what a good valuation technology looks like. With that thinking, you will be prepared
to adopt such a technology in the next few chapters.
MULTIPLE ANALYSIS
An acceptable valuation technique must have benefits that outweigh the cost of using it, and
its cost-benefit tradeoff must compare favorably with alternative techniques. A full-fledged
fundamental analysis comes at some cost because it requires the analyst to consider a large
amount of information, which involves considerable effort. We will develop ways of doing
this as efficiently as possible but, before proceeding, we should consider shortcuts that
avoid those costs. What is lost by taking an easier route? What is gained by taking the more
difficult path? Multiple analysis is cheap because it uses minimal information.
A multiple is simply the ratio of the stock price to a particular number in the financial
statements. The most common ratios multiply the important summary numbers in the
statements—earnings, book values, sales, and cash flows—hence the price-earnings ratio
(P/E), the price-to-book ratio (P/B), the price-to-sales ratio (P/S), and the ratio of price-tocash flow from operations (P/CFO). By using one piece of information in the statements,
these multiples are surely parsimonious in using financial statement information. One does
not have to know much accounting to calculate these ratios.
Two techniques employ these multiples and variants on them; they are the method of
comparables and multiple screening.
The Method of Comparables
The method of comparables or multiple comparison analysis—sometimes referred to as
“comps”—works as follows:
1. Identify comparable firms that have operations similar to those of the target firm whose
value is in question.
2. Identify measures for the comparable firms in their financial statements—earnings,
book value, sales, cash flow—and calculate multiples of those measures at which the
firms trade.
3. Apply an average or median of these multiples to the corresponding measures for the
target firm to get that firm’s value.
We will attempt to value Dell, Inc., in August 2008 using the method of comparables.
Table 3.1 lists the most recent annual sales, earnings, and the book value of equity for
Dell (from the 2008 financial statements in Chapter 2) and two firms that produce similar
personal computer products, Hewlett-Packard Company, which absorbed Compaq Computer, and Lenovo Group, the Hong kong–listed firm that manufactures ThinkPad and
IdeaPad laptops along with desktop computers and workstations. The price-to-sales (P/S),
price-to-earnings (P/E), and price-to-book (P/B) ratios for HP and Lenovo are based on
their market values in August 2008. Dell is valued by applying the average of multiples
for the comparison firms to Dell sales, earnings, and book values, as seen in Table 3.2.
The three multiples give three different valuations for Dell, a bit awkward. So the valuations are averaged to give a market value of $51,206 million on 2,060 million shares, or
$24.86 per share. The earnings multiple gives the highest valuation of $39.77 per share
while the book value multiple goes the lowest valuation of 7.80 per share. Dell was
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
TABLE 3.1
Pricing Multiples for
Comparable Firms
to Dell, Inc.
Sales
Hewlett-Packard Co.
Lenovo Group Ltd.
Dell, Inc.
Earnings
$84,229
14,590
61,133
$7,264
161
2,947
77
Book
Value
Market
Value
P/S
P/E
P/B
$38,526
1,134
3,735
$115,700
6,381
?
1.37
0.44
?
15.9
39.6
?
3.0
5.6
?
Dollar numbers are in millions.
TABLE 3.2
Average Multiple for
Comparables
Applying
Comparable Firms’
Multiples to Dell, Inc.
Sales
Earnings
Book value
Average valuation
0.91
27.8
4.3
Dell’s
Number
×
×
×
$61,133
2,947
3,735
Dell’s
Valuation
=
=
=
$55,631
81,927
16,061
51,206
Dollar numbers are in millions.
Dell’s actual valuation on August 28, 2008, was $50,830.
trading at $25 per share in August 2008. On the basis of the average valuation, our analysis says “hold.”1
These calculations are certainly minimal. But the valuation has probably left you a little
uneasy. Although Dell’s inferred price is similar to its market price, this is not a valuation
that makes one feel secure.
Multiple comparison analysis is easy, but it’s cheap in more than one sense of the word.
Indeed, there’s a real fallacy here. If we have the prices of the comps, we can calculate a
value for Dell. But if we want to get a value for Hewlett-Packard (say), would we use the
calculated value of $24.86 per share for Dell? This would be circular because Dell’s price
is based on Hewlett-Packard’s price. The analysis is not anchored in something fundamental that tells us about value independently of market prices. It assumes that the market is
efficient in setting prices for the comparables. But if this is the case, why doubt that the $25
market price for Dell is also efficient and go through the exercise? If the comps are mispriced, then the exercise is also doubtful. In short, the method fails the fundamentalist’s
tenet (in Box 1.6 in Chapter 1): When calculating value to challenge price, beware of using
price in the calculation. Indeed, the method can be dangerous. See Box 3.1.
This method is used extensively and there are situations in which it is justified. If the
target firm is a private or thinly traded firm with no reliable traded price, we might get a
quick feel for the value of its equity from the comparables, but only if their stocks are
efficiently priced. We might also be interested in the price at which a stock should trade,
whether that price is efficient or not. Investment bankers floating initial public offerings
(IPOs) use the method of comparables to estimate the price at which the market might
value the issue. (They might use prices in past comparable IPO transactions rather than
comparable prices at the moment.) If the market is mispricing the comps, they estimate
it will misprice the IPO also. In litigation for loss of value (in shareholder class action or
1
In a variation of the calculations (to use more up-to-date information), multiple analysis sometimes uses
last-twelve-months (LTM) accounting numbers:
LTM
Number for prior fiscal year
Current year-to-date number
Year-to-date number for prior year
The year-to-date numbers and the sum of quarterly numbers reported to date.
Does the Method of Comparables
Promote Pyramid Schemes?
Periodically, initial public offerings for particular types of firms
become “hot.” The 1990s bull market saw hot issues for
theme restaurants, technology and computer stocks, brand
fashion houses, business services, and Internet stocks. In a hot
IPO market, firms sell for high multiples, encouraging comparable firms to go public also. Investment bankers justify the
price of an offering on the basis of multiples received in an
earlier offering. If they raise the multiples a little, to get the
IPO business, a pyramid scheme can develop, with offering
prices based on increasing comparable prices without reference to fundamental value.
In 1995 and 1996, teleservicing firms—firms supplying
telemarketing and customer service—were offered to the
market. In anticipation of other firms outsourcing these functions to the new firms, investors paid high prices in the IPOs.
The pyramiding occurred. Lehman Brothers co-managed one
3.1
of the initial offers but lost out to other investment banks
in handling later IPOs. Quoted in The Wall Street Journal on
September 15, 1998, Jeffrey Kessler of Lehman Brothers said,
“Every time we came out with what we thought was a reasonable valuation for a new IPO in this area, the winning
bidder had valuations that were way higher. We were outbid
[by other investment banks] by, in some cases, over five multiple points, and we scratched our heads and said this was
crazy.”
Indeed, the stock prices of teleservicing firms dropped
dramatically after the IPO boom. A pyramiding IPO market is
another stock price bubble. Pricing IPOs on the basis of the
speculative price multiples of comparable firms perpetuates
the bubble. Beware of prices estimated from comparables, for
you may join a chain letter (a pyramid scheme) that leads you
to pay too much for a stock.
minority interest suits, for example), the question often asked is what price the stock
would have been had certain events occurred, not what it’s really worth.
Conceptual problems aside, the method of comparables also has problems in
implementation:
• Identifying comps with the same operating characteristics is difficult. Firms are typically
matched by industry, product, size, growth, and some measure of risk, but no two firms are
exactly alike. One might argue that Hewlett-Packard, with its printer business, is not the
same type of firm as Dell. Lenovo is a Chinese company, traded on a different exchange.
Comps are usually competitors in the same industry that might dominate (or be dominated
by) the target firm and thus not comparable. Increasing the number of comps might average out errors, but the more comps there are, the less homogeneous they are likely to be.
• Different multiples give different valuations. Applying a comp’s P/B ratio to the target’s
book value yields a different price from applying the comp’s P/E ratio to the target’s
earnings, as we just saw with Dell. Which price should we use? In the example, we simply took an arithmetic average, but it is not clear that this is correct.
• Negative denominators can occur. When the comp has a loss, the P/E has little meaning.
The method of comparables leaves too much room for “playing with mirrors.” There is
too much freedom for the analyst to obtain a valuation that he, or his client, desires. This is
not good if our aim is to challenge speculation.
Other multiples are used in comparison analysis. Some adjust for differences in leverage
between firms and some adjust for differences in accounting principle. See Box 3.2.
In carrying out multiple analysis the analyst should have a feel for what typical multiples look like, as a benchmark. Table 3.3 lists percentiles for a number of ratios for all U.S.
listed firms for the years 1963–2003. You can see from the table that the median P/B (at the
50th percentile) is 1.7, the median trailing P/E is 15.2, and the median unlevered price-tosales (P/S) ratio is 0.9. Further back in time (in the 1970s), multiples were lower. On the
other hand, multiples in the 1990s were considerably higher than historical ratios. You will
find more detail on historical multiples on the book’s Web page.
78
Adjusted Multiples
3.2
Some multiples are affected by leverage—the amount of
debt financing a firm has relative to equity financing. So, to
control for differences in leverage between the target firm
and comparison firms, these multiples are “unlevered.” Typical
unlevered measures are
expense). Sometimes, ebitda is referred to as “cash flow”
(from operations) but, as we will see in Chapter 4, it is only an
approximation of cash flow.
Earnings can be affected by one-time events that are particular to one firm. So multiples are adjusted to remove the
effects of these events on earnings:
Market value of equity + Net debt
Unlevered
=
price/ sales ratio
Sales
Market value of equity
Price/ earnings
=
before unusual items Earnings before unusual items
LEVERAGE ADJUSTMENTS
Unlevered = Market value of equity + Net debt
price/ ebit
ebit
where ebit = earnings before interest and taxes (earnings plus
interest and tax expenses). Net debt is total debt obligations
less any interest-bearing securities (negative debt) that the
firm may hold as assets. Typically the book value of net debt is
an approximation of its market value. The numerator in these
ratios is the market value of the firm, sometimes referred to as
the unlevered value or enterprise value. Unlevered ratios are
sometimes referred to as enterprise multiples. Price-to-sales
and price-to-ebit ratios should be calculated as unleveled ratios
because leverage does not produce sales or earnings before
interest and taxes.
The primary enterprise multiple is that for the enterprise
itself—the enterprise price-to-book ratio:
EnterpriseP/B =
Market value of equity + Net debt
Book value of equity + Net debt
The denominator here is the book value of the enterprise, that
is, the net assets employed by the enterprise.
ACCOUNTING ADJUSTMENTS
As their denominators are accounting numbers, multiples are
often adjusted for aspects of the accounting that may differ between firms. Depreciation and amortization methods can differ
and some analysts feel that depreciation and amortization are
not well measured in income statements. A ratio that adjusts
for both leverage and the accounting for these expenses is
Unlevered price/ ebitda =
Market value of equity + Net debt
ebitda
where ebitda = earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation,
and amortization (ebit plus depreciation and amortization
VARIATIONS OF THE P/E RATIO
The P/E ratio compares the stock price to annual earnings.
Variations are
Trailing P/E =
Price per share
Most recent annual earnings
Rolling P /E =
Price per share
Sum of EPS for most recent four quarters
Price per share
Forward or =
leading P /E Forecast of next year’s EPS
The rolling P/E is sometimes indicated as P/E(ttm), where ttm is
“total twelve months” to date.
The forward P/E, usually calculated with analysts’ forecasts, modifies the trailing P/E for anticipated earnings growth
in the coming year.
Price in the numerator of the trailing P/E is affected by dividends: Dividends reduce share prices because value is taken
out of the firm. But earnings in the denominator are not affected by dividends. So P/E ratios can differ because of differing dividend payouts. To correct for this difference, trailing P/E
ratios are calculated as
Dividend-adjusted P/E =
Price per share + Annual DPS
EPS
where DPS is dividends per share. The numerator is the cumdividend price, the price before the dividend is paid; the
price after the dividend is paid is the ex-dividend price.
The Web page gives some examples of multiple
calculations.
Screening on Multiples
The method of comparables takes the view that similar firms should have similar multiples.
One would expect this to be the case if market prices were efficient. Investors who doubt
that the market prices fundamentals correctly, however, construe multiples a little differently: If firms trade at different multiples, they may be mispriced. Thus stocks are screened
for buying and selling on the basis of their relative multiples.
79
80
Part One
TABLE 3.3
Financial Statements and Valuation
Percentiles of Common Price Multiples, 1963–2003, for U.S. Listed Firms
Multiple
Percentile
P/B
Enterprise
P/B
Trailing
P/E
Forward
P/E
P/S
Unlevered
P/S
95
7.9
12.7
49.2
8.9
8.1
75
50
25
5
2.9
1.7
1.0
0.5
2.7
1.5
1.0
0.6
Negative
earnings
23.5
15.2
10.3
5.9
19.1
13.1
9.2
5.6
1.7
0.8
0.3
0.1
2.0
0.9
0.5
0.2
P/CFO
Negative
cash flow
18.8
9.9
5.6
2.3
Unlevered
P/ebitda
Unlevered
P/ebit
30.1
Negative
ebit
15.3
9.9
6.6
3.3
10.6
7.0
4.8
2.5
Notes: CFO is cash flow from operations. Firms with negative denominators are treated as high multiple firms. Thus firms in the upper percentiles of P/E, P/CFO, and P/ebit
are those with negative earnings (losses), cash flows, or ebit, as indicated.
Source: Calculated from Standard & Poor’s COMPUSTAT data. Forward P/E ratios are based on consensus analysts’ one-year-ahead earnings forecasts, on Thomson Financial
I/B/E/S database.
Here is how screening works in its simplest form:
1. Identify a multiple on which to screen stocks.
2. Rank stocks on that multiple, from highest to lowest.
3. Buy stocks with the lowest multiples and (short) sell stocks with the highest multiples.
Buying low multiples and selling high multiples is seen as buying stocks that are cheap and
selling those that are expensive. Screening on multiples is referred to as fundamental
screening because multiples price fundamental features of the firm. Box 3.3 contrasts fundamental screening with technical screening.
Screening on multiples presumes that stocks whose prices are high relative to a particular fundamental are overpriced, and stocks whose prices are low relative to a fundamental
are underpriced. Stocks with high multiples are sometimes referred to as glamour stocks
for, it is claimed, investors view them as glamorous or fashionable and, too enthusiastically,
drive up their prices relative to fundamentals. High multiples are also called growth stocks
because investors see them as having a lot of growth potential. In contrast, stocks with low
multiples are sometimes called contrarian stocks for they are stocks that have been ignored by the fashion herd. Contrarian investors run against the herd, so they buy unglamorous low multiple stocks and sell glamour stocks. Low multiple stocks are also called
value stocks because their value is deemed to be high relative to their price.
Fundamental screening is a cheap fundamental analysis. You accept the denominator of
the screen as an indicator of intrinsic value and accept the spread between price and this
number as an indicator of mispricing. It uses little information, which is an advantage. It’s
quick-stop shopping for bargains. It may be cost effective if a full-blown fundamental
analysis is too expensive, but it can lead you astray if that one number is not a good indicator of intrinsic value. For this reason, some screeners combine strategies to exploit more
information: Buy firms with both low P/E and low P/B (two-stop shopping), or buy small
firms with low P/B and prior price declines (three-stop shopping), for example.
Table 3.4 reports annual returns from investing in five portfolios of stocks selected by
screening on P/E and P/B ratios. The investment strategy conjectures that the market overprices firms with high P/E and P/B multiples (glamour stocks or growth stocks) and underprices firms with low multiples (value stocks or contrarian stocks). This is a strategy trolled
many times by value-glamour investors and contrarian investors. Clearly, both P/E and P/B
rank returns in Table 3.4 and the differences in returns between portfolio 1 (high multiples)
and portfolio 5 (low multiples) indicate that one-stop shopping from screening solely on P/E
or P/B would have paid off. Two-stop shopping using both the P/E screen and the P/B screen
would have improved the returns: For a given P/E, ranking on P/B adds further returns.
Stock Screening Methods
3.3
Insider-trading screens: Mimic the trading of insiders (who
must file details of their trades with the Securities and
Exchange Commission). The rationale: Insiders have inside
information that they use in trading.
TECHNICAL SCREENS
Technical screens identify investment strategies from indicators that relate to trading. Some common ones are:
Price screens: Buy stocks whose prices have dropped a lot
relative to the market (sometimes called “losers”) and sell
stocks whose prices have increased a lot (sometimes called
“winners”). The rationale: Large price movements can be
deviations from fundamentals that will reverse.
FUNDAMENTAL SCREENS
Fundamental screens compare price to a particular number in
firms’ financial statements. Typical fundamental screens are:
Price-to-earnings (P/E) screens: Buy firms with low P/E ratios
and sell firms with high P/E ratios. See Box 3.2 for alternative
measures.
Small-stocks screens: Buy stocks with a low market value (price
per share times shares outstanding). The rationale: History has
shown that small stocks typically earn higher returns.
Price-to-book value (P/B) screens: Buy firms with low P/B and
sell firms with high P/B.
Neglected-stock screens: Buy stocks that are not followed
by many analysts. The rationale: These stocks are underpriced
because the investor “herd” which follows fashions has
deemed them uninteresting.
Seasonal screens: Buy stocks at a certain time of year, for
example, in early January. The rationale: History shows that
stock returns tend to be higher at these times.
Price-to-cash flow (P/CFO) screens: Buy low price relative to
cash flow from operations, sell high P/CFO.
Price-to-dividend (P/d) screens: Buy low P/d, sell high P/d.
The Web page for this chapter discusses these screens in
more detail and directs you to screening engines.
Momentum screens: Buy stocks that have had increases in
stock prices. The rationale: The price increase has momentum
and will continue.
TABLE 3.4 Returns to Screening on Price-to-Earnings (P/E) and Priced-to-Book (P/B), 1963–2006.
Annual returns from screening on trailing P/E alone, P/B alone, and trailing P/E and P/B together. The screening strategy ranks
firms on the screen each year and assigns firms to five portfolios based on the ranking. For the screen using both P/E and P/B, firms
are assigned to five portfolios each year from a ranking on P/E and then, within each P/E portfolio, assigned to five portfolios based
on a ranking on P/B. Reported returns are averages from implementing the screening strategies each year from 1963 to 2006.
Screening on P/E and P/B Alone
P/E Portfolio
Average
P/E
Annual
Return
P/B
Portfolio
Average
P/B
Annual
Return
5 (low P/E)
4
3
2
1 (high P/E)
7.1
10.8
14.7
31.3
Losses*
23.2%
18.1
14.9
12.1
13.5
5 (low P/B)
4
3
2
1 (high P/B)
0.61
1.08
1.47
2.17
4.55
24.3%
18.4
15.4
12.6
9.3
Screening on Both P/E and P/B
P/E Portfolio
P/B
portfolio
1 (High)
2
3
4
5(Low)
1 (High)
2
3
4
5 (Low)
4.3%
8.8
14.4
15.5
26.4
10.9%
9.1
8.5
13.4
20.1
14.2%
13.0
12.1
14.7
20.2
17.1%
6.0
17.0
8.0
22.6
19.7%
22.1
21.6
24.3
30.0
*Firms in this loss portfolio have an average E/P of –18.4 percent. Earnings are before extraordinary and special items.
Source: Earnings and book value are from Standard & Poor’s COMPUSTAT data. Annual stock returns are calculated from the monthly returns file of the Center for Research
in Security Prices (CRSP) at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
81
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Part One
Financial Statements and Valuation
But danger lurks! There is no guarantee that these returns, documented after the fact from
history, will replicate in the future; we are not sure whether investors would have expected
these returns in advance or whether the strategy just “got lucky” in this period. By buying
firms with low multiples you could also be taking on risk:The returns in Table 3.4 could reward for risk, with low multiple firms being very risky and high multiple firms having low
risk. Indeed, the strategy in the table, though successful on average, has been known to turn
against the investor at times, with high P/E rather than low P/E yielding higher returns. That
could be uncomfortable, particularly if one had a short position in high P/E stocks. The P/E
ratio is the inverse of the E/P ratio, referred to as the earnings yield. Just as bonds with higher
risk have higher yields, so might it be with stocks.
There is an additional caveat in running these investment strategies: They use very little
information—only two pieces of financial statement information in the two-stop shopping
case—and ignoring information has costs. The fundamentalist’s tenet (in Box 1.6 in Chapter 1) is violated: Ignore information at your peril. The price-to-sales ratio is particularly
dangerous. See Box 3.4. By relying on little information, the trader is in danger of trading
with someone who knows more than he, someone who’s done her homework on the payoffs
a stock is likely to yield. A low P/E could be low for very good reasons. Indeed, a low P/E
stock could be overpriced and a high P/E stock could be underpriced. In such cases, the
trader might get caught in the wrong position. Remember the Dell, Inc., General Motors,
and Ford example in Chapter 1. Selling Dell with a high P/E of 87.9 in 2000 would have
been a good idea, but buying GM or Ford with low P/E ratios of 8.5 and 5.0 would not:
GM’s and Ford’s stock prices declined dramatically in subsequent years. By 2008, GM’s per
share price had dropped from $80 to just $4. Ford had dropped from $29 to $4.50.
The solution to the information problem is to build in a model of anticipations that
incorporates all the information about payoffs. This is the subject of formal fundamental
analysis, which produces the intrinsic value. And, after a discussion of asset-based valuation, it is the subject that we begin to develop in this chapter.
ASSET-BASED VALUATION
Asset-based valuation estimates a firm’s value by identifying and summing the value of its
assets. The value of the equity is then calculated by deducting the value of debt: Value of
the equity = Value of the firm − Value of the debt. It looks alluringly simple: Identify the
assets, get a valuation for each, add them up, and deduct the value of debt.
A firm’s balance sheet adds up assets and liabilities, and stockholders’ equity equals total
assets minus total liabilities, as we saw in Chapter 2. That chapter explained that some assets
and liabilities are marked to market. Debt and equity investments are carried at “fair” market value (if part of a trading portfolio or if they are “available for sale”). Liabilities are typically carried close to market value on balance sheets and, in any case, market values of
many liabilities can be discovered in financial statement footnotes. Cash and receivables are
close to their value (though net receivables involve estimates that may be suspect). However,
the bulk of assets that generate value are recorded at amortized historical cost, which usually
does not reflect the value of the payoffs expected from them. (Refer back to Box 2.2.)
Further, there may be so-called intangible assets—such as brand assets, knowledge assets, and managerial assets—missing from the balance sheet because accountants find their
values too hard to measure under the GAAP “reliability” criterion. Accountants give these
assets a value of zero. In Dell’s case, this is probably the major source of the difference
between market value and book value. The firm has a brand name that may be worth more
than its tangible assets combined. It has what is hailed as a unique built-to-order production
technology. It has marketing networks and distribution channels that generate value. But
none of these assets are on the balance sheet.
The Perils of Ignoring Information:
The Price-to-Sales Ratio and Price-to-Ebitda
PRICE-TO-SALES
During the Internet bubble, the price-to-sales ratio (P/S) was a
common metric on which to evaluate stocks. Table 3.3 reports
that the median historical P/S ratio is 0.9, but in the period
1997–2000, it was not unusual for new technology firms to
trade at over 20 times sales. Why did Internet analysts focus
on the price-to-sales ratio? Why were IPOs priced on the basis
of comparable P/S ratios? Well, most of these firms were reporting losses, so the P/E ratio did not work for comparable
analysis. But shifting to a P/S ratio carries danger.
What determines the price-to-sales ratio?
Buying a stock on the basis of its P/E ratio makes sense, because
a firm is worth more the more it is likely to grow earnings. Buying on the basis of its price-to-book ratio (P/B) also makes sense
because book value is net assets, and one can think of buying
the assets of a business. But with sales we have to be careful.
Sales are necessary to add value, but not sufficient. Sales can
generate losses (that lose value), so a consideration of the P/S
ratio must be made with some anticipation of the earnings that
sales might generate. If current sales are earning losses, beware.
To appreciate a P/S ratio, understand that
P
P E
= ×
S
E S
Here E/S is the profit margin ratio, that is, the fraction of each
dollar of sales that ends up in earnings. This “profitability of
3.4
sales” must be understood in evaluating the P/S ratio, otherwise you are ignoring information at your peril. But, with an
appreciation of the profit margin, you are really getting back
to the P/E ratio, the first component of the P/S calculation
here; the formula says that the P/S ratio is really an undoing of
the P/E ratio by ignoring E/S. Analysts sometime interpret the
P/S ratio as indicating expected growth in sales. But growth in
earnings (from sales) is what is important, and thus the focus
should be earnings growth and the P/E ratio.
PRICE-TO-EBITDA
Price/ebitda is a popular multiple for both multiple comparisons and screening. Ebitda is earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, and amortization. Some analysts remove depreciation (of plant and equipment) and amortization (of intangible assets like copyrights and patents) from earnings because
they are not “cash costs.” However, while the analyst must be
concerned about how depreciation is measured, depreciation
is a real economic cost. Plants must be paid for, and they wear
out and become obsolescent. They must be replaced, ultimately with cash expenditures. Pricing a firm without considering plant, copyright, and patent expenses pretends one can
run a business without these expenses. Just as price/sales
omits consideration of expenses, so does price/ebitda. Look
back at the discussion of WorldCom in Box 2.3 to see how the
ratio can lead us astray.
Asset-based valuation attempts to redo the balance sheet by (1) getting current market
values for assets and liabilities listed on the balance sheet and (2) identifying omitted assets
and assigning a market value to them. Is this a cheap way out of the valuation problem? The
accounting profession has essentially given up on this idea and placed it in the “too difficult”
basket. Accountants point out that asset valuation presents some very difficult problems:
• Assets listed on the balance sheet may not be traded often, so market values may not be
readily available.
• Market values, if available, might not be efficient measures of intrinsic value if markets
for the assets are imperfect.
• Market values, if available, may not represent the value in the particular use to which the
asset is put in the firm. One might establish either the current replacement price for an
asset or its current selling price (its liquidation value), but neither of these may be
indicative of its value in a particular going concern. A building used in computer manufacturing may not have the same value when used for warehousing groceries.
• The omitted assets must be identified for their market value to be determined. What is the
brand-name asset? The knowledge asset? What are the omitted assets on Dell’s balance
sheet? The very term “intangible asset” indicates a difficulty in measuring value. Those
who estimate the value of brand assets and knowledge assets have a difficult task. Accountants list intangible assets on the balance sheet only when they have been purchased
in the market, because only then is an objective market valuation available.
83
Breakup Valuation: An Application
of Asset-Based Valuation
Asset-based valuation is used to determine the breakup
value of a firm. While understanding the value of the firm as
a going concern, the investor must always ask whether the
assets are worth more as a going concern or broken up. If
their breakup value is greater, the firm should be liquidated.
Some of the large takeover and restructuring activity of the
late 1980s came about when takeover specialists saw that a
takeover target’s assets were worth more broken up than as a
3.5
whole. This assessment requires a discovery of the liquidation
value (selling prices) of assets.
Fundamental analysis estimates value from utilizing assets
in a going-concern business. A comparison of this value with
breakup value recognizes the maxim that “Value depends on
the business strategy.” Proceeding as a going concern is just
one strategy for using assets, selling them is another, and the
value of the two strategies must be compared.
• Even if individual assets can be valued, the sum of the market values of all identified assets may not (and probably will not) be equal to the value of the assets in total. Assets
are used jointly. Indeed, entrepreneurs create firms to combine assets in a unique way to
generate value. The value of the “synergy” asset is elusive. Determining the intrinsic
value of the firm—the value of the assets combined—is the valuation issue.
Asset-based valuations are feasible in a few instances. For example, we might value an
investment fund that invests only in traded stocks by adding up the market values of those
stocks. But even in this case, the firm may be worth more than this balance sheet value if
one of its assets is the fund’s ability to earn superior investment returns. And the market values of the fund’s stocks may not be efficient ones—which will be the case if the fund managers can pick mispriced stocks. Asset-based analysis is sometimes applied when a firm’s
main asset is a natural resource—an oil field, a mineral deposit, or timberlands, for example. Indeed these firms are sometimes called asset-based companies. Proven reserves (of
oil or minerals) or board feet (of timber) are estimated and priced out at the current market
price for the resource, with a discount for estimated extraction costs. See Box 3.5 for an
application of asset-based valuation.
Asset-based valuation is not a cheap way to value firms. In fact, it’s typically so difficult
that it becomes very expensive. This is why accountants dodge it. The difficulty highlights
the need for fundamental analysis. The problem of valuing firms is really a problem of the
imperfect balance sheet. Fundamental analysis involves forecasting payoffs to get an intrinsic value that corrects for the missing value in the balance sheet. Coca-Cola has a large brand
asset that is not on the balance sheet. Therefore, it trades at a high premium over book value.
But we will see in this book that the premium can be estimated with fundamental analysis.
FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS
The method of comparables, screening analysis, and asset-based valuation have one feature
in common: They do not involve forecasting. But the value of a share in a firm is based on the
future payoffs that it is expected to deliver, so one cannot avoid forecasting payoffs if one is
to do a thorough job in valuing shares. Payoffs are forecasted from information, so one cannot avoid analyzing information. Fundamental analysis is the method of analyzing information, forecasting payoffs from that information, and arriving at a valuation based on those
forecasts. Because they avoid forecasting, the method of comparables, screening analysis,
and asset-based valuation use little information. That makes these methods simple, but this
simplicity comes at the cost of ignoring information. Rather than a P/E, P/B, or P/S ratio, the
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Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
FIGURE 3.1
85
thorough investor screens stocks on a P/V (price-to-value) ratio. Accordingly,
she requires a technology to estimate V. Screening on P/E, P/B, or P/S poses the
right question: Are earnings, book values, or sales cheap or expensive? But one
buys value, not just one aspect of that value.
The Process of Fundamental
Analysis
1
Knowing the business
• The products
• The knowledge base
• The competition
• The regulatory constraints
• The management
Strategy
Analyzing information
• In financial statements
• Outside of financial
statements
2
Developing forecasts
• Specifying payoffs
• Forecasting payoffs
3
Converting forecasts
to a valuation
4
The Process of Fundamental Analysis
Figure 3.1 outlines the process of fundamental analysis that produces an estimate
of the value. In the last step in the diagram, Step 5, this value is compared with
the price of investing. This step is the investment decision. For the investor outside of the firm, the price of investing is the market price of the stock to be traded.
If the valuation is greater than the market price, the analysis says buy; if less, sell.
If the warranted value equals the market price, the analyst concludes that the market in the particular investment is efficient. In the analysts’ jargon this is a hold.
For the investor inside the firm, the price of investing is the cost of the investment.
If the calculated value of a strategy or investment proposal is greater than the
cost, value is added. The analyst says (in the parlance of project evaluation)
accept the strategy or the proposal if it is greater than the cost, if less, reject.
Steps 1–4 in the diagram show how to get the valuation for this investment
decision. The value of an investment is based on the payoffs it is likely to yield,
so forecasting payoffs (in Step 3) is at the heart of fundamental analysis. Forecasts cannot be made without identifying and analyzing the information that
indicates those payoffs, so information analysis (in Step 2) precedes forecasting. And information cannot be interpreted unless one knows the business and
the strategy the firm has adopted to produce payoffs (Step 1).
1. Knowing the business. Chapter 1 stressed that understanding the business is
a prerequisite to valuing the business. An important element is the firm’s
strategy to add value. The analyst outside the firm values a given strategy,
5
following the steps in the diagram, and adjusts the valuation as the firm
Trading on the valuation
modifies its strategy. The analyst inside the firm is, of course, involved in
Outside investor
the formulation of strategy, so she proceeds through the steps to test for the
Compare value with
value that alternative strategies might add. So you see a feedback loop in
price to buy, sell, or
hold
Figure 3.1: Once a strategy has been selected, that strategy becomes the one
under which the business is valued as a going concern.
Inside investor
Compare value with
2. Analyzing information. With a background knowledge of the business, the
cost to accept or
valuation of a particular strategy begins with an analysis of information
reject strategy
about the business. The information comes in many forms and from many
sources. Typically, a vast amount of information must be dealt with, from
“hard” dollar numbers in the financial statements like sales, cash flows, and
earnings, to “soft” qualitative information on consumer tastes, technological change, and the quality of management. Efficiency is needed in organizing this information for forecasting. Relevant information needs to be
distinguished from the irrelevant, and financial statements need to be dissected to extract information for forecasting.
3. Developing forecasts. Developing forecasts thus has two steps, as indicated in Step 3 in
Figure 3.1. First, specify how payoffs are measured. Then, forecast the specified payoffs.
The first step is a nontrivial one, as the validity of a valuation will always depend on how
payoffs are measured. Does one forecast cash flows, earnings, book values, dividends,
ebit, or return-on-equity? One sees all of these numbers in analysts’ research reports.
This is a critical design issue that has to be settled before we can proceed.
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4. Converting the forecast to a valuation. Operations pay off over many years, so typically
forecasts are made for a stream of future payoffs. To complete the analysis, the stream of
expected payoffs has to be reduced to one number, the valuation. Since payoffs are in the
future and investors prefer value now rather than in the future, expected payoffs must be
discounted for the time value of money. Payoffs are uncertain; there is a chance they will
prove considerably worse or better than expected. So, as investors typically prefer less
risky expected payoffs to more risky ones, expected payoffs also must be discounted for
risk. Therefore, the final step involves combining a stream of expected payoffs into one
number in a way that adjusts them for the time value of money and for risk. See Box 3.6.
5. The investment decision: Trading on the valuation. The outside investor decides to trade
securities by comparing their estimated value to their price. The inside investor compares the estimated value of an investment to its cost. In both cases, the comparison
yields the value added by the investment. So, rather than comparing price to one piece
of information, as in a simple multiple, price is compared to a value number that incorporates all the information used in forecasting. That is, the fundamental analyst screens
stocks on their P/V ratios—price-to-value ratios—rather than on a P/E or P/B ratio.
An analyst can specialize in any one of these steps or a combination of them. The analyst needs to get a sense of where in the process his comparative advantage lies, where he
can get an edge on his competition. When buying advice from an analyst, the investor needs
to know just what the analyst’s particular skill is. Is it in knowing a great deal about the
business (Step 1)? Is it in discovering and analyzing information (Step 2)? Is it in developing good forecasts from the information (Step 3)? Is it in inferring value from the forecasts
(Step 4)? Or is it in the function of developing trading strategies from the analysis while
minimizing trading costs (Step 5)? An analyst might be a very good earnings forecaster, for
example, but might not be good at indicating the value implied by the forecast.
Financial Statement Analysis, Pro Forma Analysis,
and Fundamental Analysis
Financial statements are usually thought of as a place to find information about firms, and
indeed we have seen them as such in the “analyzing information” step above. But financial
statements play another important role in fundamental analysis.
We have recognized that forecasting payoffs to investments is at the heart of fundamental analysis. Future earnings are the payoffs that analysts forecast, and future earnings will
be reported in future income statements. Cash flows might also be forecasted, and cash
flows will be reported in future cash flow statements. So financial statements are not only
information to help in forecasting; they are also what is to be forecast. Figure 3.2 gives a
picture of how financial statements are used in valuation.
Along with earnings and cash flows, the financial statements report many line items that
explain how firms produce earnings and cash flows. The income statement reports sales,
the costs of production, and other expenses necessary to make the sales. The cash flow
statement gives the sources of the cash flows. The balance sheet lists the assets employed to
generate earnings and cash. Financial statements, in the jargon of valuation analysis, give
the “drivers” of earnings and cash flows. So they provide a way of thinking about how to
build up a forecast, a framework for forecasting. If we think of the line items in the financial statements—sales, expenses, assets employed—we will understand the value generation. And if we forecast the complete, detailed statements, we will forecast the factors that
drive earnings and cash flows, and so construct forecasts.
Forecasting future financial statements is called pro forma analysis because it involves
preparing pro forma financial statements for the future. A pro forma statement is one that
Converting a Forecast to a Valuation:
The Mechanics
Having forecasted payoffs, the investor asks: How much
should I pay for the expected payoffs? In answering this question, he understands that he must cover his costs. He has two
costs in making the investment. First, he loses interest on the
money invested (he loses the “time value of money”) and, second, he takes on risk (the cost of possibly losing some or all of
his investment). These two costs determine his cost of capital,
sometimes referred to as his required return, sometimes as
the normal return:
Required return = Risk-free interest return + Premium for risk
So, if one can earn 5 percent on a risk-free investment (like a
U.S. government obligation or a government-guaranteed
savings account) but requires 10 percent to invest in a firm,
one is requiring a 5 percent risk premium. The value received
from making an investment must compensate the investor for
both risk and the time value of money. Therefore, in converting forecasted payoffs to a valuation, the payoffs must be
adjusted for the required return. There are two ways of doing
this in a valuation model.
3.6
formula for one period. Because the formula involves discounting to present value, the required return is sometimes referred
to as the discount rate. Note that the higher the discount rate,
the lower the discounted value of the payoff. That is, the higher
the cost is in terms of lost interest and risk, the lower is the
amount the investor should pay for a dollar of payoff.
2. CAPITALIZING RETURNS
Expected returns (rather than total payoffs) are capitalized rather
than discounted. Capitalization divides the return forecast by
the required return, rather than 1 plus the required return:
Value =
Expected return
Required return
For a savings account, the return is the earnings on the
account rather than the total cash payoff at the end of the
holding period. For a $100 savings account, expected earnings for one year (at 5 percent) is $5, and the required return
is 5 percent. So,
1. DISCOUNTING PAYOFFS
Value can be determined by discounting expected payoffs at
1 plus the required return. So, the value of an expected cash
payoff one period in the future is
Value = Present value of expected cash flow
=
Expected cash flow one year ahead
1+ Required return
An investment in a (government-guaranteed) savings account
is risk free, so the required return is the risk-free rate, say
5 percent. The account will also earn at a 5 percent rate. So,
for an investment of $100 in a savings account that earns
5 percent per year and is to be held for one year, the expected
payoff one year ahead is $105, and the value at the beginning
of the year is
Value =
$105
1.05
= $100
which, of course, is what the savings account is worth. The expected cash flow of $105 is discounted by 1.0 + 0.05 = 1.05.
The amount 1.05 is the cost of each dollar of investment because it is the (opportunity) cost of not investing a dollar in a
similar account (with the same risk) at 5 percent. You will recognize the mechanics here as the standard present value
Value =
$5
0.05
= $100
The earnings are capitalized at 0.05 rather than 1.05, for 5
cents is the (opportunity) cost of a dollar of earnings lost from
not investing in a similar account. In this context, the required
return is referred to as the capitalization rate. Note that, as
with discounting, the higher the required return, the lower
the capitalized value.
We will see when payoffs are to be discounted and when
they are to be capitalized, but note for the moment that total
cash payoffs are discounted while earnings are capitalized. The
savings account examples here are for payoffs over one period,
but discounting and capitalization apply to a stream of payoffs
over a number of periods in much the same way, as we will see.
THE REQUIRED RETURN
Clearly, one needs a measure of the required return to complete a valuation. While the required return for a savings
account is straightforward, calculating the required return for
equities is nontrivial. Discounting or capitalizing expected
payoffs is a mechanical exercise that can be left to a spreadsheet program once the required return is known. The substantive aspect of Step 4 is the measurement of the required
return. For that we need a beta technology. The appendix to
this chapter deals with the estimation of the required return.
87
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FIGURE 3.2
How Financial
Statements are Used
in Valuation.
The analyst forecasts
future financial
statements and
converts forecasts in
the future financial
statements to a
valuation. Current
financial statements
are used as
information for
forecasting.
Current Financial
Statements
Forecasts
Financial
Statements
Year 1
Financial
Statements
Year 2
Financial
Statements
Year 3
Other
Information
Valuation
of
Equity
Convert forecasts to a valuation
will be reported if expectations are met. Forecasting is at the heart of fundamental analysis
and pro forma analysis is at the heart of forecasting. Accordingly, fundamental analysis is
a matter of developing pro forma (future) financial statements and converting these pro formas into a valuation. This perspective also directs the analysis of current financial statements. Current financial statements are information for forecasting, so they are analyzed
with the purpose of forecasting future financial statements.
THE ARCHITECTURE OF FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS:
THE VALUATION MODEL
As Figure 3.1 illustrates, fundamental analysis is a process that transforms your knowledge
of the business (Step 1) into a valuation and trading strategy (Step 5). Steps 2, 3, and 4 accomplish the transformation. These three steps are guided by the valuation model adopted
by the analyst. Forecasting in Step 3 is at the heart of analysis, and the analyst cannot begin
the analysis without specifying what’s to be forecast. The valuation model specifies the
payoffs and, accordingly, directs Step 3—the forecasting step—of fundamental analysis.
But it also directs Step 2—information analysis—because the relevant information for
forecasting can be identified only after defining what is to be forecast. And, it tells the analyst how to do Step 4—converting forecasts to a valuation. So the valuation model provides
the architecture for valuation, and a good or poor valuation technology rides on the particular valuation model adopted.
Good practice comes from good thinking. Valuation models embed the concepts regarding how firms generate value. Firms are complex organizations and inferring the value
they generate from their many activities requires some orderly thinking. Valuation models
supply that thinking. A valuation model is a tool for understanding the business and its
strategy. With that understanding, the model is used to translate knowledge of the business
into a valuation of the business.
Investment bankers and equity research groups typically have a common discipline, an
in-house approach to valuation, that articulates their valuation model. An investment consultant’s valuation model is often at the center of its marketing. Many models are being promoted. At one time discounted cash flow (DCF) models were the rage. But now many models focus on “economic profit” and refer to particular economic factors—“value drivers,”
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
89
“fade rates,” “franchise factors,” and “competitive advantage periods,” for example. Are
these marketing gimmicks? To what extent, and how, do these factors actually create value?
How does one choose between the different models? These are questions that a potential
client must ask. And the vendor of the valuation model must have a satisfying answer. The
valuation model is at the heart of equity research, and the analyst must have a valuation
model that survives scrutiny.
Terminal Investments and Going-Concern Investments
To start you thinking about an appropriate valuation model, refer to Figure 3.3. Suppose
you make an investment now with the intention of selling it at some time in the future. Your
payoff from the investment will come from the total cash it yields, and this arises from two
FIGURE 3.3
Periodic Payoffs to
Investing.
The first investment
is for a terminal
investment; the second
is for a going-concern
investment in a stock.
The investments are
made at time zero and
held for T periods
when they terminate
or are liquidated.
For a terminal investment:
I0 Initial investment
Investment horizon: T
1
2
3
T–1
T
CF1
CF2
CF3
CFT – 1
CFT
0
Terminal flows
Cash flows
For a going-concern investment in equity:
P0 Initial price
Investment horizon
when stock is sold
1
2
3
T–1
d1
d2
d3
dT – 1
T
0
Dividends
PT + dT
Selling price at T +
dividend
For terminal investment,
I0 = Amount invested at time zero
CF = Cash flow received from the investment
For investment in equity,
P0 = Price paid for the share at time zero
d = Dividend received while holding the stock
PT = Price received from selling the share at time T
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sources: the cash that the investment pays while you are holding it and the cash you get
from selling it. These payoffs are depicted for two types of investments on the time line in
Figure 3.3. This line starts at the time the investment is made (time zero) and covers T periods, where T is referred to as the investment horizon. Investors typically think in terms
of annual returns, so think of the periods in the figure as years.
The first investment in the figure is an investment for a fixed term, a terminal investment. A bond is an example. It pays a cash flow (CF) in the form of coupon interest each
year and a terminal cash flow at maturity. Investment in a single asset—a rental building, for
example—is another. It pays off periodic cash flows (in rents) and a final cash flow when the
asset is scrapped. The second investment in the figure differs from a bond or a single asset in
that it doesn’t terminate. This is a feature of investment in an equity share of a firm. Firms
are usually considered to be going concerns, that is, to go on indefinitely. There is no terminal date and no liquidating payoff that can be forecast. However, an investor may terminate
her investment at some time T in the future by selling the share. This leaves her with the
problem of forecasting her terminal payoff. For an investment in equity, P0 is the price paid
for the share and d1, d2, d3, . . . , dT are the dividends paid each year by the firm. The
dividends are the periodic cash flow payoffs like the coupon on a bond. PT is the terminal
payoff, the price from selling the share. We consider both terminal investments and goingconcern investments in this book, but we focus on going-concern equity investments.
Following the mechanics for valuing the savings account in Box 3.6, we know that the
payoffs for the two types of investments must be converted to a valuation with the required
return. In this book, we will represent 1 + the required return (used in discounting) by the
symbol ρ. So, if the required return is 5 percent (as for the savings account), ρ = 1 + 0.05 =
1.05. When we talk of the required return, we will denote it as ρ − 1, so the required return
for the savings account is 1.05 − 1.0 = 0.05. You may be used to using a symbol
(r, say) for the required return and using 1 + r as a discount rate. So ρ is equivalent to
1 + r and ρ − 1 to r. You will see that our convention makes for simpler formulas.
A percentage rate is frequently referred to as the required return. Strictly speaking, one
means the required rate of return.
Valuation Models for Terminal Investments
The standard bond valuation formula is an example of a valuation model. The top of
Figure 3.4 depicts the cash payoffs for a five-year, $1,000 bond with an annual coupon rate
of 10 percent. The layout follows the time line in Figure 3.3. The bond valuation formula
expresses the intrinsic value of the bond at investment date zero, as
Value of a bond = Present value of expected cash flows
V0D =
(3.1)
CF1 CF2 CF3 CF4 CF5
+ 2 + 3 + 4 + 5
ρD
ρD
ρD
ρD
ρD
The ρD here is the required return on the bond plus 1. The D indicates the valuation is
for debt (as a bond is commonly identified). This model states that future cash flows (CF)
from the bond are to be forecasted and discounted at the required payoff rate on the debt,
ρD. Specifying what’s to be forecasted in Step 3 is not difficult here—just refer to the cash
flow payoffs as specified in the bond agreement. The formula dictates how these are combined with the required return (Step 4): Cash flows for each period t are weighted by the
inverse of the discount rate, 1/ρDt , to discount them to a “present value.”
The only real issue in getting a bond value is calculating the discount rate. This is the
rate of return that the lender requires, sometimes called the cost of capital for debt. This
rate is the yield on a bond with identical features that the lender could buy. Fixed-income
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
FIGURE 3.4
Cash Flows for a
$1,000, Five-Year,
10 Percent p.a.
Coupon Bond and a
Five-Year Investment
Project.
In both cases a cash
investment is made at
time 0 and cash flows
are received over five
subsequent years. The
investments terminate
at the end of Year 5.
91
For a bond:
Periodic cash coupon
$100
$100
$100
$100
Cash at redemption
$100
$1,000
Purchase price ($1,080)
Time, t
0
1
2
3
4
5
$430
$460
$460
$380
$250
For a project:
Periodic cash flow
Salvage value
$120
Initial investment ($1,200)
Time, t
0
1
2
3
4
5
analysts who value debt usually specify different rates for different future periods, that is,
they give the discount rate a term structure. We will use a constant rate here to keep it
simple. Say this is 8 percent per annum. Then
V0D =
$100
$100
$100
$100
$1,100
+
+
+
+
= $1, 079.85
2
3
4
1.08 (1.08)
(1.08)
(1.08)
(1.08)5
This is the amount you would pay for the bond if it were correctly priced, as indicated
by the cash outflow at time 0 in the figure.
This of course is the standard present value formula. It is often applied for project evaluation inside the firm, that is, for making decisions about whether to invest in projects such
as new factories or new equipment. Figure 3.4 also depicts expected cash flow payoffs for
a project that requires an outlay of $1,200 at time 0 and runs for five years. The present
value formula can again be applied:
Value of a project = Present value of expected cash flows
V0P =
(3.2)
CF1 CF2 CF3 CF4 CF5
+ 2 + 3 + 4 + 5
ρP
ρP
ρP
ρP
ρP
where P indicates this is for a project and ρP is the required payoff per dollar invested in the
project, which reflects its risk. The required rate of return for a project is sometimes called
a hurdle rate. If this is 12 percent (ρP = 1.12), the value of the investment is $1,530. (Make
sure you can calculate this.) This formula is a project valuation model. It directs that we
should forecast cash flows from the project in Step 3 and combine the forecasts with the required payoff according to the present value formula in Step 4. As with bonds, determining
the cost of capital for the project is an issue. But a project’s future cash flows are not as
transparent as those for bonds, so we must also analyze information to forecast them. So
Step 2, information analysis, comes into play. The valuation model directs what to do in the
information analysis: Discover information that forecasts future cash flows.
A firm aims to create value for shareholders. The forecasted payoffs in Figure 3.4 are
illustrations of two investments that a firm could make with shareholders’ money. Consider
the bond. If the market is pricing the bond correctly, it will set the price of this bond to yield
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Financial Statements and Valuation
8 percent. Thus, if the firm buys the bond, it will pay $1,079.85. What is the anticipated
value created by that investment? It’s the present value of the payoff minus the cost. This is
the net present value of the investment, the NPV, discovered in Step 5. For the bond priced
at $1,079.85, this is zero, so the investment is referred to as a zero-NPV investment. Equivalently, it is said that the bond investment does not create value, or there is no value added.
You get what you pay for because it generates payoffs that have the same (present) value as
the cost. Of course, if the manager thinks that the market is mispricing the bond—because
it has calculated the discount rate incorrectly—then he may buy or sell the bond and create
value. This is what bond traders do: They exploit arbitrage opportunities from what they
perceive as mispricing of bonds.
Most businesses invest in assets and projects like the one at the bottom of Figure 3.4.
This is an example of a positive-NPV investment, one that adds value because the value
exceeds the cost. In appraising the investment, the manager would conclude that the anticipated net present value was $1,530 − $1,200 = $330, so adopting the project creates value.
Valuation Models for Going-Concern Investments
The valuation of terminal investments like a bond or a project is a relatively easy task. But
firms are going concerns, and so are the strategies their managers embark upon. Firms
invest in projects but they perpetually roll projects over into new projects. Equity valuation
and strategy analysis that involve ongoing operations present two additional complications.
First, as going concerns continue (forever?), payoffs have to be forecast for a very long
(infinite?) time horizon. This raises practical issues. Second, the attribute to be forecasted
to capture value added is not as apparent as that for a single terminal investment. Identifying it requires a good understanding of where in the business value is generated. We deal
with these two issues in turn.
Criteria for a Practical Valuation Model
We want a valuation model to capture value generated within the firm, to be sure. But we
also want it to be practical. We don’t want a fancy valuation model that is cumbersome to
apply in practice. The following are some considerations.
1. Finite forecast horizons. Going concerns are expected to go on forever but the idea that
we have to forecast “to infinity” for going concerns is not a practical one. The further
into the future we have to forecast, the more uncertain we will be about our forecast.
Indeed, in practice analysts issue forecasts for just a few years ahead, or they summarize
the long term with long-term growth rates. We prefer a valuation method for which a
finite-horizon forecast (for a set number of years, for 1, 5, or 10 years, say) does the job.
This dictates the specification of the forecast target in Step 3; it must be such that forecasting the payoff over relatively short horizons is equivalent to forecasting perpetual
payoffs for going concerns. And the shorter the horizon, the better.
2. Validation. Whatever we forecast must be observable after the fact. That is, when the
feature that’s been forecasted actually occurs, we can see it. We don’t want to forecast
vague notions such as “economic profit,” “technological advantage,” “competitive
advantage,” or “growth opportunities.” These may be important to building a forecast
but, as a practical matter, we want to forecast something that can be audited and reported
in firms’ future financial statements. The ability to validate a forecast requires us to be
concrete. So, if “growth opportunities” create value, we want to identify them in terms
of a feature that will show up in financial statements. The insistence on validation makes
the method credible: An analyst’s earnings forecast can be validated in financial reports
after the fact to confirm that the forecast was a good (or poor) one. From the investor’s
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
93
point of view, the ability to ascertain product quality is important. He’s wary of stock
tips that use vague criteria. He demands concreteness.
3. Parsimony. We want to forecast something for which the information-gathering and
analysis task in Step 2 is relatively straightforward. The fewer pieces of information
required, the more parsimonious is the valuation. We want parsimony. If we could identify one or two pieces of information as being particularly important—because they
summarize a lot of information about the payoff—that would be ideal. And if that information is in the financial statements that are ready at hand, all the better.
What Generates Value?
Firms are engaged in the three activities we outlined in Chapter 1: financing activities,
investing activities, and operating activities. Look at Figure 1.1 in Chapter 1 again. Which
of these activities adds value?
The economist’s answer states that it is the investing and operating activities that add
value. Financing activities, the transactions that raise moneys from investors and return
cash to them, are of course necessary to run a business. But the standard position among
financial economists is that financing activities do not generate value. However, there are
some exceptions. We consider transactions with shareholders and debtholders in turn.
Equity Financing Activities
Share Issues in Efficient Markets. A firm with 120 million shares outstanding issues
10 million additional shares at the market price of $42 per share. What happens to the price
per share? Well, nothing. The firm’s market value prior to the offering was 120 million × $42 =
$5,040 million. The offering increases its market value by 10 million × $42 = $420 million,
that is, to $5,460 million. With now 130 million shares outstanding, the price per share is
still $42. The value of a shareholder’s claim is unchanged. The total investment in the firm
increases but no value is added to investment. This observation tells us that we should always
consider shareholder value on a per-share basis. Value creation is a matter of increasing the
per-share value of the equity, not the total value. And managers should not aim at increasing
the size of the firm if it does not add to per-share value.
Suppose the same firm were to issue 10 million shares but at $32 a share rather than the
market price of $42. This issue increases the market value of the firm by 10 million ×
$32 = $320 million, that is, to $5,360 million. But the per-share price on the 130 million
shares after the issue is $41.23. Has this transaction affected shareholder value? Well, yes.
Shareholders have lost 77 cents per share. Their equity has been diluted: The per-share
value has declined.
These two scenarios illustrate a standard principle: Issuing shares at market value does
not affect shareholders’ wealth but issuing them at less than market value erodes their
wealth. In valuation we might ignore share issues at market value but we cannot ignore
issues at less than market value. The latter occurs, for example, when shares are issued to
executives and employees under stock compensation plans. If we ignore these transactions
we will miss some value that is lost.
The effect of issuing shares at market value is different from the effect of announcing
that a share issue will be made. Sometimes the announcement, in advance of the issue, carries information about the value of the firm, about its investment prospects, for example—
and so the market price changes. But this effect—sometimes referred to as a signaling
effect—is generated by new information, not by the issue itself.
Share Issues in Inefficient Markets. The standard view of the effects of financing
assumes that the market price of shares reflects their value, that is, the share market is
Share Issues in Acquisitions
In takeovers, acquiring firms often offer shares of their firm in
exchange for shares of the firm they are buying. Questions
always arise as to whether particular mergers or acquisitions
are value-adding transactions: If the shares in the transactions are efficiently priced, the acquirer pays fair value and
expects to earn just a normal rate of return on the acquisition.
An acquirer adds value in an acquisition in three ways:
1. Identifying targets whose shares are undervalued in the
market relative to their fundamental value.
2. Identifying targets whose operations, combined with
those of the acquirer, will add value.
3. Identifying that the acquirer’s own shares are overvalued in
the market.
Under the first strategy, the acquirer behaves like any
active investor and looks for undervalued assets.
The second strategy looks for so-called synergies from the
two combined companies. Cost savings—economies of scale—
were said to be the motivation for many bank mergers in the
1990s. Economies from marketing a broad range of financial
services under one roof was said to be one of the motivations for
the merger of banks, brokerages, and insurance firms, like the
3.7
merger of Travelers Life, Salomon Smith Barney, and Citibank
into Citigroup in 1999. And the announcement of the merger of
America Online and Time Warner combined the content of a
media company with an Internet portal to that content.
Under the third strategy, the acquirer recognizes that he
has “currency” in the form of overvalued stock and so can
buy assets cheaply. In the AOL and Time Warner merger,
AOL’s shares were trading at 190 times earnings and 35 times
sales, very high multiples by historical standards. Was AOL
using overvalued currency to acquire Time Warner? Indeed,
in the agreement to acquire Time Warner, AOL offered its
shares at an (unusual) discount of 25 percent of market
value, in admission that its shares might have been overvalued. Even at this price, AOL shareholders did well. Although
the merger was a failure operationally, AOL shareholders
benefitted enormously by using their overpriced shares; they
bought Time Warner assets cheaply.
Before going into a transaction, both the acquirer and the
target need to understand the value from combining operations. But they also need to understand the value of both the
acquirer’s shares and the target’s shares and how they compare to market values. They then understand value given up
and value received.
efficient. If so, value received is value surrendered, on both sides of the transaction. But if
shares are mispriced, one party can lose at the expense of the other. If management knows
that the shares of their firm are overvalued in the market, they might choose to issue shares.
The new shareholder pays the market price but receives less in value. The existing
shareholders receive more value than the value surrendered, so they gain. For this reason
announcements of share offerings are sometimes greeted as bad news information, and the
share price drops. This wealth transfer can only happen in an inefficient market or a market
where the manager knows more about the firm’s prospects than the market. Buyer beware!
Understand the value of the shares before participating in a share issue. See Box 3.7.
Share Repurchases. Share repurchases are share issues in reverse. So share repurchases at
market price do not affect per-share value and share repurchases at more than market value
(should they occur) do. But, like share issues, management can make share repurchases when
they see that the share price is below intrinsic value. In this case, shareholders who offer their
shares lose; those that don’t, gain. For this reason, announcements of share repurchases are
sometimes seen as signals that the stock is underpriced, increasing share price. In this case,
seller beware.
Dividends. Dividends are part of the return to equity investment so it is tempting to think
that they are value for shareholders. Indeed, fundamental analysts once believed that higher
payout meant higher value. But modern finance theory sees it differently. Dividends are not
what they appear to be.
If a firm pays a dollar of dividends, the shareholders get a dollar. But there is a dollar less
in the firm, so the value of the firm drops by a dollar. Shareholders receive the dollar of
94
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
95
dividends, but they can sell the share for a dollar less. The dividend payment makes them
no better off; it does not create value. In other words, the investor’s cum-dividend payoff is
not affected. The return to the shareholder is made up of a dividend and a capital gain. A
dividend adds to the return but the capital gain is reduced by the amount of the dividend,
leaving the return unaffected.
You might have heard these arguments referred to as the dividend irrelevance concept,
or as the M&M dividend proposition after the two professors who advanced the arguments,
Merton Miller and Franco Modigliani. Some investors might prefer dividends to capital
gains because they need the cash. But they can sell some of their shares to convert capital
gains into dividends. Other investors might prefer no dividends; they can achieve this by
buying the stock with the cash from dividends. This ability to make what are called homemade dividends means that investors do not care if their return comes from dividends or
capital gains. And if its shareholders want dividends, the firm also can create dividends without affecting the firm’s investments, by borrowing against the security in the investments and
using the proceeds to pay dividends. Of course, if a firm forgoes value-creating projects to
pay dividends, it will destroy value. But, given a ready availability of financing, sensible
management will borrow or issue shares to pay the dividends rather than affecting good
investments.
Homemade dividends and borrowing do involve some transaction costs, but these are
usually considered small enough to ignore, given the imprecision we typically have in calculating value. If making homemade dividends is difficult because of illiquidity in the market for the shares (of a nontraded firm, for example), lack of dividends might reduce the
value of an investment to a shareholder who desires dividends. The value effect is referred
to as the liquidity discount (to the value of an equivalent liquid investment). That same
shareholder will not demand a liquidity discount, however, if he can generate cash by
borrowing against the security of his shares. Just as a firm can borrow to pay dividends
(and not affect the value of investments), so shareholders can borrow to generate dividends
(and not affect the value of shares).
Like share issues and share repurchases, dividend announcements might convey information that affects stock prices. Dividend increases are often greeted as good news, an indicator that the firm will earn more in the future, and cuts in dividends are often greeted as bad
news. These information effects—called dividend signaling effects—occur when dividends
are announced. The dividend irrelevance notion says that the dividends themselves will not
affect (cum-dividend) shareholder value (when the stock goes ex-dividend).
Some argue that dividends might lose value for shareholders if they are taxed at a higher
rate than capital gains. This is of no consequence to tax-exempt investors, but the taxable
investor might incur more taxes with dividends, and so would prefer to get returns in the
form of capital gains. Accordingly, the taxable investor would pay less for a share that pays
dividends to yield the same return for a similar share that returns only capital gains. Others
argue, however, that investors can shield dividends from taxes with careful tax planning.
And some also argue that market prices cannot be lower for dividend-paying stocks
because tax-exempt investors (such as the large retirement funds and not-for-profit endowments) dominate the market. A lower price that yields the same after-tax return to a taxable
investor as the return without dividends would provide an arbitrage opportunity to the taxexempt investor, and exploitation of this opportunity would drive the price to yield the same
return as a stock with no dividends. Thus dividends have no effect on prices or values. Go
to a corporate finance text for the subtleties of this reasoning. Empirical research on the
issue has produced conflicting findings.
In this book we accept the presumption that “dividends don’t matter” and calculate values accordingly. The investor who expects to pay more taxes on dividends must reduce the
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Financial Statements and Valuation
before-tax values that we calculate in this book by the present value of any forecasts of
taxes on dividends. (She also might consider buying a stock with similar features that does
not pay dividends.) The adjusted valuation involves tax planning because this investor must
consider how taxes on dividends can be avoided or deferred by holding high dividend yield
stocks in retirement funds and employee savings plans (for example). Similarly, the valuations here might be adjusted for liquidity discounts.
Debt Financing Activities
The bond in Figure 3.4 that yields 8 percent per annum has a market value of $1,079.85.
We saw that at this price the bond is a zero-NPV investment; it doesn’t add value. Most
firms accept debt markets as being efficient and issue and buy bonds and other debt instruments at their market value, so do not add value (over the required return for their risk). The
exceptions are financial firms like banks, which can buy debt (lend) at a higher rate than
they can sell it (borrow). They add value as financial intermediaries in the capital market.
And, as we saw, firms in the business of bond arbitrage might add value if they detect mispricing of bonds.
In debt financing activities, firms sell debt to raise money. They are not in the business
of bond arbitrage, so they accept the market price as fair value and sell at that price. The
transaction thus does not add value. The firm gets what it pays for. If it issues bonds, it gets
cash at exactly the present value of what it expects to pay back. If it borrows from a bank,
it gets the amount of cash equal to the present value, at the interest rate, of the principal plus
interest it has to pay back in the future. In the jargon of modern finance, debt financing is
irrelevant to the value of the firm. It is simply a transaction at fair value to bring moneys
into the firm for operations.
Some argue that because interest on debt is deductible against income in assessing
corporate taxes, issuing debt gains a tax advantage that shareholders cannot get in paying
personal taxes. Thus it generates value for the shareholder. This is controversial and you
should go to corporate finance texts for a discussion. If one accepts this tax argument, one
can add the value of the tax benefit in valuing the firm.
Investing and Operating Activities
Value generation in a business is ascribed to many factors—know-how, proprietary technology, good management, brand recognition, brilliant marketing strategy, and so on. At
the root of these factors is good ideas. Good entrepreneurs build good businesses and a
good entrepreneur is someone with good ideas. But ideas are vague, as are the factors just
mentioned, and it is difficult to see the value of ideas without being more concrete. The
value of ideas is ascertained from what firms do, and what firms do is engage in investing
and operating activities.
Investing activities use the moneys contributed to the firm in financing transactions to
invest in the assets necessary to conduct the business envisioned by ideas. The project in
Figure 3.4 is a simple example. It adds value. Value is anticipatory; it is based on expected
future payoffs from investing. But there has to be follow-through, and operating activities
are the follow-through. Operating activities utilize the investments to produce goods or
services for sale, and it is these sales that realize the value anticipated in investing. Simply,
a firm cannot generate value without finding customers for its products, and the amount of
value received is the amount of value those customers are willing to surrender. Net value
added in operations is the value received from customers less the value surrendered by the
firm in getting products to customers. So investments generate value, but the anticipated
value is determined by forecasting the success of the investment in generating value in
operations.
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
97
Valuation models are developed with the understanding that it is the operations, and the
investment in those operations, that generate value. So valuation models value operations,
ignoring value that might be created from share issues and share repurchases. Accordingly,
the valuation indicates whether the stock market is mispricing the equity, so that the
investor understands whether share issues and share repurchases are made at fair value—or
whether the firm has the opportunity to create value for shareholders by issuing shares
(in an acquisition, for example).
Valuation Models and Asset Pricing Models
You have been introduced to asset pricing models in finance courses and are probably familiar with the most common model, the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). Be sure not
to confuse a valuation model with an asset pricing model.
The name “asset pricing model” suggests that the model will give you the price or
value of an asset. But it is a misnomer. Asset pricing models yield the required return (the
cost of capital), not the value of an asset. The capital asset pricing model, for example,
specifies the required return for holding a share of a firm as the risk-free return plus a risk
premium, determined by the equity beta for the firm. An asset pricing model is a beta technology. Valuation models, on the other hand, do yield the value of an asset. As this value
can be compared with price, a valuation model is an alpha technology. Asset pricing models are pertinent to valuing an asset, of course, for we have seen that converting a forecast
to a valuation using a valuation model (in Step 4) requires specification of the required
return. Valuation models show how, giving a required return from an asset pricing model,
the asset pricing is completed.
In this book, we do not spend much time on the technology involved in measuring the
required return. You should be familiar with the techniques—students sometimes refer to
them as “beta bashing”—from your corporate finance courses. The appendix to this chapter gives a brief overview of asset pricing models and provides some caveats to using these
models for the measurement of the required return.
Summary
This chapter has given you a road map for carrying out fundamental analysis. Indeed, Figure 3.1 lays out a road map for the rest of the book. It lays out the five steps of fundamental analysis, steps that convert your knowledge of a business and its strategy to a valuation
of that business. At the core of the process is the analysis of information (Step 2), making
forecasts from that information (Step 3), and converting those forecasts to a valuation
(Step 4).
A valuation model provides the architecture for fundamental analysis. A valuation
model is a tool for thinking about value creation in a business and translating that thinking
into a value. The chapter introduced you to valuation models for bonds and projects and
showed that valuation of going concerns is inherently more difficult than valuation of these
terminal investments. We concluded that a valuation model must focus on the aspects of the
firm that generate value, the investing and operating activities, so setting the stage for
the development of appropriate valuation models in the following chapters.
Having gained an understanding of fundamental analysis—at least in outline—you can
appreciate the limitations of “cheap” methods that use limited information. The chapter
outlined three such methods: the method of comparables, screening analysis, and assetbased valuation. You should understand the mechanics of these methods but also be aware
of the pitfalls in applying them.
How are financial statements used in valuation? You don’t have a complete answer to
this question yet, for that is the subject of the whole book. But you do have an outline.
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The Web Connection
Find the following on the Web page supplement for this
chapter:
• More on the calculation of multiples.
• More on the method of comparables and price
bubbles.
• Links to screening engines.
• A formal analysis of required returns, abnormal returns,
alphas, and betas.
• Buying firms with market values less than book value.
• The Reviewers’ corner guides you to further reading.
• A discussion of arbitrage.
Minimal financial statement information is used in the method of comparables and in
screening strategies. Balance sheet information is used in asset-based valuation; indeed,
asset-based valuation is a matter of marking to market the assets and liabilities of a firm.
But financial statements really come into play in full fundamental analysis. Not only are
current and past financial statements analyzed as part of the information for forecasting (in
Step 2), but also forecasting (in Step 3) is a matter of preparing pro forma financial statements for the future. That is, financial statements are information, but they also must be
forecasted. (Figure 3.2 gives the picture.) So you see that financial statements are very
much involved in fundamental analysis; indeed preparing pro forma financial statements
for the future, and analyzing current financial statements to forecast those statements, is
very much what fundamental analysis is all about.
Key Concepts
breakup value is the amount a firm is
worth if its assets (net of liabilities) are
sold off. 84
contrarian stock is a stock that is out-offavor and trades at low multiples
(viewed by contrarian investors as
undervalued). 80
cost of capital is the opportunity cost of
having money tied up in an investment.
Also referred to as the normal return,
the required return, or, when calculating
values, as the discount rate or
capitalization rate. 87
cum-dividend price is the price inclusive
of the dividend received while holding
the investment. Compare with
ex-dividend price, which is price
without the dividend. 79
debt financing irrelevance means that
the value of a firm is not affected by
debt financing activities, that is, by
issuing debt. 96
dividend irrelevance means that paying
dividends does not generate value for
shareholders. 95
finite-horizon forecasting refers to
forecasting for a fixed (finite) number
of years. 92
forecast horizon is a point in the future
up to which forecasts are made. 92
fundamental analysis is the method of
analyzing information, forecasting payoffs
from that information, and arriving at a
valuation based on those forecasts. 84
glamour stock is a stock that is
fashionable and trades at high multiples
(viewed by contrarian investors as
overvalued). Sometimes referred to as a
growth stock. 80
going-concern investment is one which
is expected to continue indefinitely.
Compare with terminal investment. 90
growth stock is a term with many
meanings but, in the context of multiple
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
screening, it is a stock with a high
multiple that is contrasted with a value
stock with a low multiple. 80
homemade dividends are dividends a
shareholder creates for himself by selling
some of his shares, thus substituting
dividends for capital gains 95
investment horizon is the period for which
an investment is likely to be held. 90
liquidity discount is a reduction in the
value of an investment due to difficulty
in converting value in the investment
into cash. 95
parsimony (in valuation) is the ability to
value a firm from a reduced amount of
information. 93
pro forma analysis is the preparation of
forecasted financial statements for future
years. 86
risk premium is the expected return on an
investment over the risk-free return. 87
terminal investment is an investment that
terminates at a point of time in the
future. Compare with going-concern
investment. 90
unlevered measures are measures that are
not affected by how a firm is financed. 79
valuation model is the architecture for
fundamental analysis that directs what is to
be forecast as a payoff, what information
is relevant for forecasting, and how
forecasts are converted to a valuation. 88
value added (or value created or value
generated) is the value from anticipated
payoffs to an investment (fundamental
value) in excess of value given up in
making the investment (the cost of the
investment). 86
value stock is a stock that trades at low
multiples (viewed by value investors as
undervalued). Compare with growth
stock. 80
The Analyst’s Toolkit
Analysis Tools
Page
Method of comparables
Screening analysis:
Technical screening
Fundamental screening
Glamour screening
Contrarian screening
Value screening
Momentum screening
Asset-based valuation
Breakup valuation
Converting a forecast to a
valuation:
Discounting payoffs
Capitalizing returns
Five-step fundamental analysis
Valuation models:
Bond valuation model
equation (3.1)
Project valuation model
equation (3.2)
76
80
80
80
80
80
80
81
82
84
86
87
87
85
90
91
Key Measures
Adjusted multiples
Capitalization rate
Cost of capital
Cum-dividend price
Dividend-adjusted P/E
Discount rate
ebit
ebitda
Ex-dividend price
Hurdle rate
P/E
Trailing P/E
Rolling P/E
Leading (forward) P/E
Enterprise P/B
Price-to-book (P/B)
Price-to-cash flow (P/CFO)
Price-to-dividend (P/d)
Price-to-sales (P/S)
Required return
Risk-free return
Risk premium
Terminal payoff
Unlevered multiples
Price-to-sales (P/S)
Price-to-ebit
Price-to-ebitda
99
Page
79
87
87
79
79
87
79
79
79
91
76
79
79
79
79
76
76
81
83
87
87
87
90
79
79
79
79
Acronyms to Remember
CAPM capital asset pricing model
CF cash flow
CFO cash flow from operations
DPS dividends per share
ebit earnings before interest and
taxes
ebitda earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation, and
amortization
EPS earnings per share E/P
earnings yield
GAAP generally accepted
accounting principles
IPO initial public offering
NPV net present value
P/B price-to-book ratio
P/CFO price-to-cash flow ratio
P/E price-to-earnings ratio
P/d price-to-dividends ratio
P/S price-to-sales ratio
P/V price-to-value ratio
100
Part One
Financial Statements and Valuation
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
A Self-Study Exercise
In the Continuing Case for Kimberly-Clark in Chapter 2, you gained some familiarity with
the financial statements for 2004 and calculated the two basic ratios, the price-to-book
(P/B) and price-earnings (P/E) ratios. After this chapter you can calculate many more ratios
at the March 2005 price of $64.81. Go ahead. You’ll now modify your calculation of the
trailing P/E in the Chapter 2 case to accommodate the 2004 dividend of $1.60 per share.
Calculate the enterprise price-to-book ratio and other unlevered ratios. With analysts’ consensus forecasts in the Yahoo! report for the firm in Chapter 1, you will also be able to calculate the forward P/E.
COMPARABLES
Who are Kimberly-Clark’s comparable firms? Here are the major firms that sell similar
consumer products, along with their stock prices at the end of March 2005.
The Procter & Gamble Company (PG)
Georgia-Pacific Corporation (GP)
Playtex Products Inc. (PYX)
$54
35
9
You can get descriptions of these firms from their 10-K filings, the Yahoo! finance Web
page, or other financial Web pages such as www.hoovers.com. Look at these descriptions
and ask which of these firms would best serve as comparables. Can you get good matches?
With the firms’ stock prices and accounting information in their SEC filings, you can calculate comparison multiples. What do these multiples imply KMB’s price should be? How
confident are you in your conclusion?
Using the multiples as screens, do you think that KMB’s multiples are typically higher
or lower than the comps? If so would you recommend taking a buy or sell position on the
basis of the difference?
ASSET-BASED VALUATION
Do you think that asset-based valuation will work for KMB?
SOME QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
Looking back to the firm’s financial statements in Exhibit 2.2 in Chapter 2, identify the
amount of shares repurchased during 2004. What effect do you think these repurchases had
on the stock price?
Identify the amount of dividends paid during 2004. Would these dividends have resulted
in an increase in the stock price, or a decrease?
Kimberly-Clark had an equity beta of 0.88 in March 2005. The 10-year U.S. government
bond rate was 4.5 percent. If the market risk premium is 5%, what is the required equity
return indicated by the capital asset pricing model (CAPM)? What would be the required
return if the market risk premium is 6 percent? In Chapter 2, you calculated the prior
12-month stock return for KMB. Would you say that investors covered their cost of capital
during that year?
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
101
Concept
Questions
C3.1. What explains differences between firms’ price-to-sales ratios?
C3.2. It is common to compare firms on their price-to-ebit ratios. What are the merits of
using this measure? What are the problems with it? Hint: ebit leaves something out.
C3.3. It is also common to compare firms on their price-to-ebitda ratios. What are the merits of using this measure? What are the dangers? Hint: ebitda leaves something out.
C3.4. Why do trailing P/E ratios vary with dividend payout?
C3.5. If a firm has a P/E ratio of 12 and a profit margin on sales of 6 percent, what is its
price-to-sales (P/S) ratio likely to be?
C3.6. If a firm is expected to have a profit margin of 8 percent but trades at a price-tosales ratio of 25, what inferences would you make?
C3.7. What do traders mean when they refer to stocks as “glamour stocks” and “value
stocks?”
C3.8. Why would you expect asset-based valuation to be more difficult to apply to a technology firm, like Dell, Inc., than to a forest products company, like Weyerhaeuser?
C3.9. The yield on a bond is independent of the coupon rate. Is this true?
C3.10. It is sometimes said that firms prefer to make stock repurchases rather than pay dividends because stock repurchases yield a higher eps. Do they?
C3.11. Your answer to concept question C3.10 should have been: Yes. If share repurchases
increase eps more than dividends, do share repurchases also create more value than
dividends?
C3.12. Should a firm that pays higher dividends have a higher share value?
Exercises
Drill Exercises
E3.1.
Calculating a Price from Comparables (Easy)
A firm trading with a total equity market value of $100 million reported earnings of $5 million and book value of $50 million. This firm is used as a comparable to price an IPO firm
with earnings per share of $2.50 and book value per share of $30 per share. Neither firm
pays dividends. What per-share IPO price does the comparable firm imply?
E3.2.
Stock Prices and Share Repurchases (Easy)
A firm with 100 million shares outstanding repurchased 10 million shares at the market
price of $20 per share. What is the total market value of the equity after the repurchase?
What is the per-share value after the repurchase?
E3.3.
Unlevered (Enterprise) Multiples (Easy)
A firm reported $250 million in total assets and $140 in debt. It had no interest-bearing
securities among its assets. In the income statement it reported $560 million in sales. The
firm’s 80 million shares traded at $7 each. Calculate
a. The price-to-book ratio (P/B)
b. The unlevered price-to-sales ratio (P/S)
c. The enterprise price-to-book ratio
E3.4.
Identifying Firms with Similar Multiples (Easy)
Find a screening engine on the Web, enter a multiple you are interested in, and get a list of
firms that have that multiple of a particular size. Choose a particular industry and see how the
various multiples—P/E, price-to-book, price-to-sales—differ among firms in the industry.
Screening engines can be found at the following site (among others):
screener.finance.yahoo.com/newscreener.html
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Part One
Financial Statements and Valuation
E3.5.
Valuing Bonds (Easy)
a. A firm issues a zero-coupon bond with a face value of $1,000, maturing in five years. Bonds
with similar risk are currently yielding 5 percent per year. What is the value of the bond?
b. A firm issues a bond with a face value of $1,000 and a coupon rate of 5 percent per
year, maturing in five years. Bonds with similar risk are currently yielding 5 percent
per year. What is the value of the bond?
c. A firm issues the same bond as in part (b) but with an annual coupon rate of 4 percent
per year. What is the value of the bond?
E3.6.
Applying Present Value Calculations to Value a Building (Easy)
In the year 2008, a real estate analyst forecasts that a rental apartment building will generate $5.3 million each year in rents over the five years 2009–2013. Cash expenses are
expected to be $4.2 million a year. At the end of five years, the building is expected to sell
for $12 million. Real estate investors expect a 12 percent return on their investments. Apply
present value discounting techniques to value the building.
Applications
E3.7.
The Method of Comparables: Dell, Inc. (Easy)
Here are some accounting numbers and market values (in millions) for Hewlett-Packard
and Gateway for 2002. These two computer manufactures are considered to be comparables for Dell, Inc.
Sales
Hewlett-Packard Co.
Gateway, Inc.
Earnings
$45,226
6,080
$624
(1,290)
Book
Value
Market
Value
$13,953
1,565
$32,963
1,944
a. Calculate price-to-sales, price-earnings (P/E), and price-to-book (P/B) ratios for
Hewlett-Packard and Gateway.
b. Dell reported the following number for fiscal year 2002:
Sales
Earnings
Book value
$31,168 million
$ 1,246 million
$ 4,694 million
Apply multiples for Hewlett-Packard and Gateway to price Dell’s 2,602 million outstanding shares. What difficulties did you encounter?
Real World Connection
See exercises E3.14, E5.11, E8.12, E13.16, and E19.4 and Minicases M10.1 and M15.2.
E3.8.
A Stab at Valuation Using Multiples: Biotech Firms (Easy)
The following table gives accounting data from the 1994 annual reports of six biotechnology firms. The market value of the equity of five of the firms is also given. All numbers are
in millions of dollars. From these numbers, estimate a value for Genentech, Inc. Genentech
had a book value of $1,349 million in 1994.
Company
Amgen
Biogen
Chiron
Genetics Institute
Immunex
Genentech
Market Value
of Equity
Price/Book
Revenue
R&D
Net Income
$8,096.71
1,379.00
2,233.60
925.00
588.53
?
5.6
3.6
4.6
2.5
4.5
?
$1,571.0
152.0
413.0
138.0
151.0
795.4
$307.0
101.0
158.0
109.0
81.0
314.3
$406.0
15.0
28.0
–7.0
–34.0
124.4
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
103
E3.9.
Pricing Multiples: General Mills, Inc. (Medium)
General Mills, the consumer foods company, traded at 1.6 times sales in 2008. It was
reporting a net profit margin on its sales of 9.5 percent. What was its P/E ratio?
E3.10.
Measuring Value Added (Medium)
a. Buying a stock. A firm is expected to pay an annual dividend of $2 per share forever.
Investors require a return of 12 percent per year to compensate for the risk of not
receiving the expected dividends. The firm’s shares trade for $19 each. What is the
value added by buying a share at $19?
b. An investment within a firm. The general manager of a soccer club is considering paying $2.5 million per year for five years for a “star” player, along with a $2 million upfront signing bonus. He expects the player to enhance gate receipts and television
advertising revenues by $3.5 million per year with no added costs. The club requires a
9 percent return on its investments. What would be the value added from the acquisition of the player?
E3.11.
Forecasting Prices in an Efficient Market:
Weyerhaeuser Company (Medium)
Weyerhaeuser, the forest products producer, traded at $42 at the beginning of 1996. Beta
services typically place its beta at 1.0 with a market risk premium of 6 percent. The riskfree rate at the end of 1995 was 5.5 percent. The firm was expected to pay dividends of
$1.60 per share in 1996 and 1997. Use the CAPM to calculate the required return, then
answer the following.
a. At what price do you expect Weyerhaeuser to sell at the end of 1997 if you forecast it
will pay no dividends?
b. At what price do you expect Weyerhaeuser to sell at the end of 1997 if it does pay the
dividends?
E3.12.
Valuation of Bonds and the Accounting for Bonds, Borrowing Costs,
and Bond Revaluations (Hard)
On January 1, 2008, Debtor Corporation issued 10,000 five-year bonds with a face value of
$1,000 and an annual coupon of 4 percent. Bonds of similar risk were yielding 8 percent
p.a. in the market at the time.
a. What did the firm receive for each bond issued?
b. At the end of 2008, the market was still yielding 8 percent on the bonds.
1. What was the firm’s borrowing cost before tax for 2008?
2. How much interest expense was reported in the income statement for 2008?
c. At the end of 2009, the yield on the bonds had dropped to 6 percent.
1. What was the firm’s borrowing cost before tax for 2009?
2. How much interest expense was reported in the income statement for 2009?
d. Creditor Corporation purchased 2,000 of the bonds in the issue. FASB Statement
No. 115 requires firms to mark these financial investments to market.
1. What were the bonds carried at on the balance sheet at the end of 2009?
2. What was interest income in the income statement for 2009?
E3.13.
Share Issues and Market Prices: Is Value Generated or Lost
by Share Issues? (Medium)
a. XYZ Corporation had 158 million shares outstanding on January 1, 2009. On February 2,
2009, it issued an additional 30 million shares to the market at the market price
of $55 per share. What was the effect of this share issue on the price per share of the
firm?
104
Part One
Financial Statements and Valuation
b. On February 28, 2009, directors of the same XYZ Corporation exercised stock options to
acquire 12 million shares at an exercise price of $30 per share. Prior to this transaction
the stock traded at $62 per share. What was the effect of the share issue to the directors
on the per-share value of the firm?
E3.14.
Stock Repurchases and Value: Dell, Inc. (Easy)
During fiscal year 2008, Dell repurchased 179 million shares on the market for $4,004
million. There were 2,239 million shares outstanding prior to the repurchase. What was the
effect of the repurchases on the per-share price of Dell’s stock?
E3.15.
Dividends, Stock Returns, and Expected Payoffs:
Weyerhaeuser Company (Medium)
Weyerhaeuser, the forest products producer, traded at $42 at the beginning of 1996. Its cost
of equity capital, calculated with the CAPM, is 11.5 percent. It is expected to pay dividends
of $1.60 per share in 1996 and 1997. Straightforward calculations (as in Exercise E3.11)
give it an expected price at the end of 1997 of $48.83 per share.
Suppose the company had announced that, instead of paying a cash dividend, it would
make share repurchases in 1996 and 1997 equal to the amount of the total annual dividend.
It had 198 million shares outstanding at the end of 1995. What now would you expect the
per-share price to be at the end of 1997?
Real World Connection
See Exercise E3.11 and Minicase M3.3 for related material on Weyerhaeuser.
E3.16.
Betas, the Market Risk Premium, and the Equity Cost of Capital:
Sun Microsystems (Medium)
A risk analyst gives Sun Microsystems, the networking computer firm, a CAPM equity
beta of 1.38. The risk-free rate is 4.0 percent.
a. Prepare a table with the cost of capital that you would calculate for the equity with the
following estimates of the market risk premium:
4.5%
6.0%
7.5%
9.0%
b. Other analysts disagree on the beta, with estimates ranging from 1.25 to 1.55. Prepare
a table that gives the cost of capital for each estimate of the market risk premium and
beta estimates of 1.25 and 1.55.
c. In early July 2008, analysts were forecasting earnings of $0.54 per share for the fiscal
year ending June 30, 2009. They were also forecasting a P/E ratio for the firm of 20 in
June 2009. The company pays no dividends. Calculate the current value of the stock in
July 2008 for this P/E forecast using the lowest and highest cost of capital estimates
from part b.
E3.17.
Implying the Market Risk Premium:
Procter & Gamble (Easy)
Analysts give Procter & Gamble, the consumer products firm, an equity beta of 0.65. The
risk-free rate is 4.0 percent. An analyst calculates an equity cost of capital for the firm of
7.9 percent using the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). What market risk premium is
she assuming?
Real World Connection
See Minicases M9.1, M11.1, M12.1, M14.1, M15.1.
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
Minicases
105
M3.1
An Arbitrage Opportunity? Cordant
Technologies and Howmet International
Cordant Technologies, based in Salt Lake City, manufactures rocket motors, “fasteners”
(bolts), and turbine engine components for the aerospace industry. For the first half of
1999, its sales were $1.28 billion, up 7 percent on the same period for the previous year.
Net income was $85.7 million, or $2.34 per share, up 16 percent. Cordant’s gas turbine
business was growing, but production cuts and inventory buildup at Boeing forecast a
slowdown in the firm’s revenues from other aerospace products. Other data on the firm are
as follows:
Rolling 12-month eps to June 30, 1999
Book value per share, June 30, 1999
Rolling 12-month sales per share to
June 30, 1999
Profit margin
Price per share, September 30, 1999
Market capitalization of equity
$4.11
$7.76
$67.20
7.4%
$32
$1.17 billion
Analysts were forecasting earnings of $4.00 per share for the full 1999 year and $4.28 for
2000.
Cordant’s financial statements consolidate an 85 percent interest in Howmet International, another manufacturer of turbine engine components. Howmet reported net income
of $65.3 million for the first half of 1999, up 33 percent, on sales of $742.4 million. Other
data on Howmet are:
Rolling 12-month eps to June 30, 1999
Book value per share, June 30, 1999
Rolling 12-month sales per share to
June 30, 1999
Profit margin
Price per share, September 30, 1999
Market capitalization of equity
$1.21
$4.25
$14.28
8.7%
$14
$1.40 billion
Analysts were forecasting earnings of $1.24 for 1999 and $1.36 for 2000.
Both firms were categorized by some analysts at the time as “neglected” or “ignored”
stocks. Their claim was that the market was irrational not only in overpricing the new technology stocks, but also in underpricing the old, “blue-collar” industrial stocks. For reference, firms like Micosoft, Dell, Yahoo!, and AOL traded at multiples of over 50 times
earnings at the time, whereas aerospace firms traded at 11 times earnings.
Calculate price multiples for Cordant and Howmet. Do you see an arbitrage opportunity? What trading strategy do you recommend to exploit the opportunity? Would you call
it a riskless arbitrage opportunity?
106
Part One
Financial Statements and Valuation
M3.2
Nifty Stocks? Returns to Stock Screening
In the early 1970s a widely publicized list of the “Nifty Fifty” stocks was drawn up. This
list, which included Avon Products, Polaroid, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Walt Disney, American Express, and Xerox, was touted as a set of “good buys.” Most of the firms traded at
high multiples. Their P/E ratios were as high as 70 to 90, with an average of 42, while the
S&P 500 traded at a multiple of 19 times earnings. Burton Crane, a New York Times
reporter, wrote the famous words at the time: “Xerox’s multiple not only discounts the
future but the hereafter as well.”
Unfortunately, many of those Nifty Fifty stocks lost considerable value in the subsequent 1970s bear market. Avon’s stock fell 80 percent, as did Polaroid’s. Coca-Cola, IBM,
and Xerox fell dramatically.
The multiples of the Nifty Fifty in 1972 bear a strong resemblance to those of the “nifty”
technology stocks of the late 1990s, and indeed to those of mature “quality” firms such as
Coca-Cola, General Electric, Pfizer, Merck, and Walt Disney (all of which were in the original Nifty Fifty of 1972). Morgan Stanley published a new set of Nifty Fifty stocks in 1995
that included these stocks. Here are some of the firms with high earnings multiples in
September 1999, with their per-share prices at that date:
Microsoft (MSFT)
Dell Computer (DELL)
Lucent Technologies (LU)
America Online (AOL)
Analog Devices (ADI)
Mattel (MAT)
CBS Corp. (CBS)
Cisco Systems (CSCO)
Home Depot (HD)
Motorola (MOT)
Charles Schwab (SCH)
Time Warner (TWX)
P/E
Price per Share ($)
64
70
75
168
65
72
72
110
51
95
56
185
90
44
64
104
56
21
46
68
69
87
34
61
Track the return to these stocks from October 1999. You might use a price chart that
tracks stock splits (for example, Big Charts at http://www.bigcharts.com).
How have these nifty stocks fared?
Here are some less nifty stocks at the time, all of which were in the S&P 500. They have
low P/E ratios.
Centex (CTX)
ITT Industries (ITT)
Seagate Technology (SEG)
U.S. Airways (U)
Conseco (CNC)
Hilton Hotels (HTL)
P/E
Price per Share ($)
7
2
7
3
6
8
28
32
30
26
20
10
How have these stocks fared?
(Note: This case was written in October 1999, without any idea of the outcome.)
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
107
M3.3
Attempting Asset-Based Valuations:
Weyerhaeuser Company
Weyerhaeuser Company grows, harvests, and processes timber and develops residential
real estate. Incorporated in Washington State, the company has four business segments:
timberlands; wood products; pulp, paper, and packaging; and real estate.
The company manages 5.3 million acres of commercial forestland, 5.1 million of them
company-owned, with 3.3 million acres in the southern United States and 2 million acres in
the Pacific Northwest. The standing timber inventory on these lands was approximately
9.4 million cunits as of early 1999 (a cunit is 100 cubic feet of solid wood).
The wood products division of Weyerhaeuser is the world’s largest producer of
commercial-grade softwood timber and also produces coated groundwood and coated
freesheet. Weyerhaeuser’s pulp, paper, and packaging division is the world’s largest producer of pulp and a leading producer of corrugated containers. The real estate operations
involve home building.
Segments contributed to total revenues and total operating income in 1998 as follows:
Timberlands and wood products
Pulp, paper, and packaging
Real estate
Corporate operations
Percent of Revenue
Percent of Operating Income
47.5%
40.1
11.1
1.3
74.1%
18.2
10.9
(3.2)
Exhibit 3.1 presents Weyerhaeuser’s 1998 income statement and balance sheet. The
notes refer to footnotes to the financial statements that can be found on the SEC’s EDGAR
Web site.
A. List the assets and liabilities on the balance sheet that you think are probably close to
market value.
B. Consider assigning a market value to the assets and liabilities you have not put on the
list. Use the following information.
Analysts estimate that the timberlands in the South are worth $1,000 per acre and those
in the Pacific Northwest $2,000 per acre. Valuers estimate the replacement cost of plants
used in producing pulp, paper, and packaging to be $12,500 million and those producing
wood products to be $2,100 million.
Market values are not available for the homes being built or for the land held for building homes, but firms with similar operations sell at seven times pretax earnings.
C. Prepare a balance sheet that purports to give the value of the equity. What do you estimate to be the intrinsic premium?
D. What reservations do you have about the process? What other approaches do you
recommend?
For reference, Weyerhaeuser’s shares traded at $54 in March 1999, when its annual
report was released.
Real World Connection
See Exercise E3.11 and E3.15 in this chapter for more coverage of Weyerhaeuser Company.
108
Part One
Financial Statements and Valuation
EXHIBIT 3.1
WEYERHAEUSER CO.
Consolidated Income Statement
(dollar amounts in millions except per-share figures)
1998
1997
$ 9,574
1,192
$10,117
1,093
10,766
11,210
7,468
611
7,866
616
649
57
646
56
130
71
42
9,028
142
89
1
9,416
1,016
5
53
8
1,082
10,110
909
12
96
8
1,025
10,441
656
769
264
7
28
15
271
15
(7)
(10)
77
61
14
110
69
14
23
70
Earnings before income taxes
463
539
Income taxes (Note 5)
169
197
Net sales and revenues:
Weyerhaeuser
Real estate and related assets
Total net sales and revenues
Costs and expenses:
Weyerhaeuser:
Costs of products sold
Depreciation, amortization, and fee stumpage
Selling, general, and administrative expenses
Research and development expenses
Taxes other than payroll and income taxes
Charge for closure or disposition of facilities (Note 15)
Charge for year 2000 remediation
Real estate and related assets:
Costs and operating expenses
Depreciation and amortization
Selling, general, and administrative expenses
Taxes other than payroll and income taxes
Total costs and expenses
Operating income
Interest expense and other:
Weyerhaeuser:
Interest expense incurred
Less interest capitalized
Equity in income (loss) of affiliates (Note 3)
Other income (expense), net (Note 4)
Real estate and related assets:
Interest expense incurred
Less interest capitalized
Equity in income of joint ventures and limited partnerships (Note 3)
Other income, net (Note 4)
Net earnings
Per common share (Note 2)
$
294
$
342
Basic net earnings
Diluted net earnings
Dividends paid
$
$
$
1.48
1.47
1.60
$
$
$
1.72
1.72
1.60
(Continued)
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
EXHIBIT 3.2
109
Consoldiated Balance Sheet
(dollar amounts in millions)
(Continued)
December 27,
1998
Assets
Weyerhaeuser
Current assets:
Cash and short-term investments (Note 1)
$
Receivables, less allowances $5 and $6
Inventories (Note 7)
Prepaid expense
28
December 28,
1997
$
100
886
962
294
913
983
298
Total current assets
Property and equipment (Note 8)
Construction in progress
2,170
6,692
315
2,294
6,991
354
Timber and timberlands at cost, less fee stumpage charged
to disposals
Investments in and advances to equity affiliates (Note 3)
Other assets and deferred charges
1,013
996
482
262
10,934
249
187
11,071
7
22
81
119
62
173
584
854
120
593
845
116
135
1,900
$12,834
193
2,004
$13,075
$
$
Real estate and related assets:
Cash and short-term investments, including restricted deposits
of $16 in 1997
Receivables, less discounts and allowances of $6 and $6
Mortgage-related financial instruments, less discounts and allowances
of $9 and $27 (Notes 1 and 13)
Real estate in process of development and for sale (Note 9)
Land being processed for development
Investments in and advances to joint ventures and limited partnerships,
less reserves of $4 and $6 (Note 3)
Other assets
Total assets
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Interest
Weyerhaeuser
Current liabilities:
Notes payable
Current maturities of long-term debt
Accounts payable (Note 1)
Accrued liabilities (Note 10)
Total current liabilities
Long-term debt (Notes 12 and 13)
Deferred income taxes (Note 5)
Deferred pension, other postretirement benefits, and other
liabilities (Note 6)
Minority interest in subsidiaries
Commitments and contingencies (Note 14)
5
88
699
707
1,499
25
17
694
648
1,384
3,397
1,404
488
3,483
1,418
498
—
121
6,788
6,904
110
Part One
Financial Statements and Valuation
December 27,
1998
EXHIBIT 3.2
(Concluded)
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Interest (continued )
Real estate and related assets:
Notes payable and commercial paper (Note 11)
Long-term debt (Notes 12 and 13)
Other liabilities
Commitments and contingencies (Note 14)
Total liabilities
Shareholders’ interest (Note 16):
Common shares; authorized 400,000,000 shares, issued
206,072,890 shares, $1.25 par value
Other capital
Retained earnings
Cumulative other comprehensive expense
Treasury common shares, at cost: 7,063,917 and 6,586,939
Total shareholders’ interest
Total liabilities and shareholders’ interest
December 28,
1997
564
701
228
1,032
255
262
1,520
1,522
8,308
8,426
258
258
416
4,372
(208)
(312)
407
4,397
(123)
(290)
4,526
$12,834
4,649
$13,075
Appendix
The Required Return and Asset
Pricing Models
The chapter has introduced the required return for an investment, otherwise known as the
normal return or the cost of capital and, in the context of project selection, the hurdle rate.
The required return is the amount that an investor requires to compensate her for the time
value of money tied up in the investment and for taking on risk in the investment. These are
her costs of taking on the investment, thus the name, cost of capital. In effect, the cost of
capital is the opportunity cost of forgoing an alternative investment with the same risk. To
add value, an investment must earn more than the cost of capital, so the required return features in valuation: In converting forecasted payoffs to a valuation, the payoffs must be discounted for the cost of capital. (See Box 3.6 again.)
Considerable time is spent in corporate finance courses estimating the cost of capital.
The techniques are called beta technologies. This appendix gives an overview. Chapter 18 comes back to the topic with a discussion of how fundamental analysis helps in the
assessment of the required return.
MEASURING THE REQUIRED RETURN:
BETA TECHNOLOGIES
When you invest, you buy a gamble. Different investments will yield different expected
payoffs, but the expected payoff is only one feature of the gamble. You are buying a range
of possible outcomes with different probabilities for each, and you must be concerned
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
111
about the chance of getting payoffs different from those expected. Most people are risk
averse (that is, particularly concerned about the downside), so they want to be rewarded
with a higher return for taking on risk. They want to earn at least the risk-free return that
one would get on a U.S. government bond, say, but they also want a premium for any risk
that they take on.
An asset-pricing model supplies the technology to calculate required returns. These
models have one insight in common: The market will not price an investment to compensate for risk that can be diversified away in a portfolio. They also have a common form.
They characterize required returns as determined by the risk-free return plus a risk
premium:
Required return = Risk-free return + Risk premium
The risk premium is given by (1) expected returns over the risk-free return on risk factors
to which the investor must be exposed because they can’t be diversified away, and (2) sensitivities of the returns on a particular investment to these factors, known as betas. Multiplying components (1) and (2) together gives the effect of an exposure to a particular risk
factor on the risk premium, and the total risk premium is the sum of the effects of all risk
factors.
The well-known capital asset pricing model (CAPM) identifies the market return (the
return on all investment assets) as the (only) risk factor. Box 3.8 outlines the CAPM. This
model determines the normal return for an equity investment as the risk-free rate plus a risk
premium, which is the expected return on the whole market over the risk-free rate multiplied by the sensitivity of the investment’s return to the market return, its beta. The risk-free
rate is readily measured by the yield on a U.S. government bond that covers the duration of
the investment, so the CAPM leaves the analyst with the task of measuring the market risk
premium and a stock’s beta.
Alternatively, multifactor pricing models insist that additional factors are involved in
determining the risk premium. The box reviews these models. These models expand the
task to identifying the relevant risk factors and estimating betas for each factor. The arbitrage pricing theory (APT) is behind these multifactor models. It characterizes investment
returns as being sensitive to a number of economywide influences that cannot be diversified
away, but is silent as to what these might be and indeed as to the numbers of factors. One
might be the CAPM market factor, and the enhancement in practice comes from identifying the other factors. Some that have been suggested are shocks resulting from changes in
industrial activity, the inflation rate, the spread between short and long-term interest rates,
and the spread between low- and high-risk corporate bonds.1 Firm size and book-to-market
ratio are among other characteristics that have been nominated as indicating firms’ exposures to risk factors.2 But these are conjectures.
Playing with Mirrors?
Clearly, this is a tricky business. Not only must the elusive risk factors be identified, but the
unobservable risk premiums associated with them also must be measured, along with the
beta sensitivities. With these problems it’s tempting to play with mirrors, but coming
up with a solid product that gives an edge over the competition is a challenge. Even the
one-factor CAPM is demanding. Betas have to be estimated and there are many commercial services that sell betas, each claiming its betas are better than those of the competition.
1
See, for example, N-F. Chen, R. Roll, and S. A. Ross, “Economic Forces and the Stock Market,” Journal
of Business, July 1986, pp. 383–403.
2
See E. F. Fama and K. R. French, “The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns,” Journal of Finance,
June 1992, pp. 427–465.
Asset Pricing Models: A Quick Review
THE CAPITAL ASSET PRICING MODEL
The CAPM states that the required return for an investment i
for a period is determined by
Required return (i) = Risk-free return
+ [Beta (i) × Market risk premium]
The market risk premium is the expected return from holding
all risky assets over that from a risk-free asset. The portfolio of
all risky assets (stocks, bonds, real estate, human capital, and
many more) is sometimes called “the market portfolio” or
“the market.” So
Market risk premium = Expected return on the market
− Risk-free return
The beta for an investment measures the expected sensitivity
of its return to the return on the market. That is, it measures
how the price of the investment will move as the price of the
market moves. It is defined as
Beta(i ) =
Covariance (return on i , return on the market)
Variance (return on the market)
The covariance measures the sensitivity but, as it is standardized by the variance of the market, it is scaled so that the market as a whole has a beta of 1.0. A beta greater than 1 means
the price of the investment is expected to move up more
than the market when the market goes up and drop more
when the market declines.
The risk premium for the investment is its beta multiplied
by the market risk premium. In 2008, the risk-free rate (on
10-year U.S. Treasury notes) was about 4.0 percent. Commercial services that publish beta estimates were giving Cisco Systems a beta of about 1.6. So, if the market risk premium was
5 percent, then the required return for Cisco given by the
CAPM was 12.0 percent:
12.0% = 4.0% + (1.6 × 5.0%)
3.8
The risk premium for buying Cisco was 8.0 percent, made up
of 5.0 percent for the risk in the market as a whole plus an
extra 3.0 percent for risk higher than that for the market.
The CAPM is based on the idea that one can diversify away
a considerable amount of risk by holding the market portfolio
of all investment assets. So the only risk that an investor needs
to take on—and the only risk that will be rewarded in the
market—is the risk that one cannot avoid, the risk in the market as a whole. The normal return for an investment is thus
determined by the risk premium for the market and the
investment’s sensitivity to market risk.
The required return given by the CAPM is based on two
expectations, expected sensitivities to the market and the
expected market risk premium. Expectations are difficult to
estimate. This is the challenge for a beta technology.
MULTIFACTOR PRICING MODELS
The market is said to be a risk factor. A risk factor is something
that affects the returns on all investments in common, so it
produces risk that cannot be diversified away. The market is
the only risk factor in the CAPM because the model says that
risk produced by other factors can be diversified away. Beta
analysts suggest, however, that there are other risks, in addition to market risk, that cannot be negated. So they build
multifactor models to capture the risk from additional factors:
Required return (i ) = Risk-free return + [Beta1 (i) × Risk
premium for factor 1] + [Beta2 (i)
× Risk premium for factor 2]
+ . . . + [Betak(i ) × Risk premium for
factor k]
The risk premium for each of the k factors is the expected
return identified with the factor over the risk-free return. The
market is usually considered to be risk factor 1, so the beta
analyst needs to deal with the measurement problems in the
CAPM. But the analyst must also identify the additional factors, calculate their expected risk premiums, and calculate the
factor betas that measure the sensitivities of a given investment to the factors. Such a task, if indeed possible, is beyond
the scope of this book.
No one knows the true beta and inevitably betas are measured with error. But even if we get
a good measure of beta, there is the more difficult problem of determining the market risk
premium. We used 5 percent for the market risk premium in calculating Cisco System’s
equity cost of capital in Box 3.8. But estimates range from 3 percent to 9.2 percent in texts
and research papers. With this degree of uncertainty, estimates of required returns are likely
to be highly unreliable. An 8 percent market risk premium would yield a required return for
Cisco of 16.8 percent. A 4 percent market risk premium would yield a required return of
10.4 percent. We might well be cynical about the ability to get precise measures of required
returns with these methods.
112
Chapter 3 How Financial Statements Are Used in Valuation
113
Indeed, there is a case to be made that using these beta technologies is just playing with
mirrors. If Cisco’s cost of capital can range from 10.4 percent to 16.8 percent depending on
the choice of a number for the market risk premium, we cannot be very secure in our estimate. Disappointingly, despite a huge effort to build an empirically valid asset pricing
model, research in finance has not delivered a reliable technology. In short, we really don’t
know what the cost of capital for most firms is.
If you have confidence in the beta technologies you have acquired in finance courses,
you may wish to apply them in valuation. In this book, we will be sensitive to the imprecision that is introduced because of uncertainty about the cost of capital. Analysis is about
reducing uncertainty. Forecasting payoffs is the first order of business in reducing our uncertainty about the worth of an investment, so our energies in this book are devoted to that
aspect of fundamental analysis rather than the measurement of the cost of capital. We will,
however, find ways to deal with our uncertainty about the cost of capital. Indeed, Chapter 18 brings fundamental analysis to the task of estimating the cost of capital and outlines
strategies for finessing the imprecision in measuring the cost of capital in equity investing.
You may wish to jump to that chapter, to get a flavor of the approach and how it relates to
standard beta technologies.
Chapter Four
LINKS
Link to previous chapter
Chapter 3 outlined the
process of fundamental
analysis and depicted
valuation as a matter of
forecasting future
financial statements.
Cash Accounting,
Accrual Accounting,
and Discounted Cash
Flow Valuation
This chapter
This chapter introduces
dividend discounting and
discounted cash flow
valuation, methods that
involve forecasting
future cash flow
statements. The chapter
also shows how cash
flows reported in the cash
flow statement differ
from accrual earnings
in the income statement
and how ignoring accruals
in discounted cash flow
valuation can cause
problems.
Link to next chapter
Chapters 5 and 6 lay
out valuation methods
that forecast income
statements and balance
sheets.
Link to Web page
The Web page supplement
provides further
explanation and additional
examples of discounted
cash flow analysis, cash
accounting, and accrual
accounting.
What is the
dividend
discount
model?
Does it
work?
What is the
discounted
cash flow
model?
Does it
work?
What is the
difference
between
cash
accounting
and accrual
accounting?
What type
of accounting
best captures
value added
in operations:
cash
accounting
or accrual
accounting?
The previous chapter described fundamental analysis as a matter of forecasting future
financial statements, with a focus on those features in the statements that have to do with
investing and operating activities. Which of the four financial statements should be forecasted and what features of these statements involve the investing and operating activities?
This chapter examines valuation technologies based on forecasting cash flows in the
cash flow statement. First we deal with valuations based on forecasting cash flows to
shareholders—dividends—known as dividend discount analysis. Second, we deal with valuations based on forecasting cash flow from operations and cash investment. Forecasting
cash flow from operations and cash investment and discounting them to a present value is
called discounted cash flow analysis. Both techniques prove to be unsatisfactory, for the
simple reason that cash flows do not capture value added in a business.
As a student in an introductory financial accounting course, you were no doubt introduced to the difference between cash accounting and accrual accounting. The cash flow
statement tracks operating and investment activities with cash accounting. Accordingly,
discounted cash flow analysis is a cash accounting approach to valuation. Income statements and balance sheets, on the other hand, are prepared according to the principles of
accrual accounting. This chapter explains the difference between cash accounting and accrual accounting and so sets the stage for valuation techniques in the next two chapters
Chapter 4 Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
115
The Analyst’s Checklist
After reading this chapter you should understand:
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
• How the dividend discount model works (or does not
work).
• Calculate the value of a perpetuity.
• What a constant growth model is.
• Apply the discounted cash flow model.
• What is meant by cash flow from operations.
• Make a simple valuation from free cash flows.
• What is meant by cash used in investing activities.
• Calculate cash flow from operations from a cash flow
statement.
• What is meant by free cash flow.
• Calculate the value of a perpetuity with growth.
• How discounted cash flow valuation works.
• Calculate cash used in investing from a cash flow
statement.
• What a “simple valuation” is.
• Calculate free cash flow.
• Problems that arise in applying cash flow valuation.
• Calculate after-tax net interest payments.
• Why free cash flow may not measure value added in
operations.
• Calculate levered and unlevered cash flow from
operations.
• Why free cash flow is a liquidation concept.
• Calculate total accruals from a cash flow statement.
• How discounted cash flow valuation involves cash
accounting for operating activities.
• Calculate revenue from cash receipts and revenue
accruals.
• Why “cash flow from operations” reported in U.S.
financial statements does not measure operating cash
flows correctly.
• Calculate expenses from cash payments and expense
accruals.
• How dividends and free cash flow are related.
• Why “cash flow in investing activities” reported in U.S.
financial statements does not measure cash investment
in operations correctly.
• Explain the difference between earnings and cash from
operations.
• Explain the difference between earnings and free cash
flow.
• How accrual accounting for operations differs from
cash accounting for operations.
• The difference between earnings and cash flow from
operations.
• The difference between earnings and free cash
flow.
• How accruals and the accounting for investment
affect the balance sheet as well as the income
statement.
• Why analysts forecast earnings rather than cash
flows.
that involve forecasting accrual accounting income statements and balance sheets rather
than the cash flow statement. After explaining how accrual accounting works and how it
differs from cash accounting, the chapter asks why those differences are relevant in valuation. In the spirit of choosing the best technology, we ask two questions. What problems
arise when we forecast cash flows? Can accrual accounting help in remedying those
problems?
116
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
THE DIVIDEND DISCOUNT MODEL
Many investment texts focus on the dividend discount model in their fundamental analysis
chapter. At first sight, the model is very appealing. Dividends are the cash flows that shareholders get from the firm, the distributions to shareholders that are reported in the cash flow
statement. In valuing bonds we forecast the cash flows from the bond, so, in valuing stocks,
why not forecast the cash flows from stocks?
The dividend discount model values the equity by forecasting future dividends:
Value of equity = Present value of expected dividends
V0E =
(4.1)
d1
d
d
d
+ 2 + 3 + 4 +L
ρ E ρ2E ρ3E ρ 4E
(The ellipsis in the formula indicates that dividends must be forecast indefinitely into the
future, for years 5, 6, and so on.) The dividend discount model instructs us to forecast dividends and to convert the forecasts to a value by discounting them at one plus the equity
cost of capital, ρE. One might forecast varying discount rates for future periods but for the
moment we will treat the discount rate as a constant. The dividend discount model is a
straight application of the bond valuation model to equity. That model works for a terminal
investment. Will it work for a going-concern investment under the practical criteria we laid
down at the end of the last chapter?
Well, going concerns are expected to pay out dividends for many (infinite?) periods in
the future. Clearly, forecasting for infinite periods is a problem. How would we proceed by
forecasting for a finite period, say 10 years? Look again at the payoffs for an equity investment in Figure 3.3 in the last chapter. For a finite horizon forecast of T years, we might be
able to predict the dividends to Year T but we are left with a problem: The payoff for T years
includes the terminal price, PT, as well as the dividends, so we also need to forecast PT, the
price at which we might sell at the forecast horizon. Forecasting just the dividends would
be like forecasting the coupon payments on a bond and forgetting the bond repayment. This
last component, the terminal payoff, is also called the terminal value. So we have the problem of calculating a terminal value such that
Value of equity = Present value of expected dividends to time T
+ Present value of expected terminal value at T
V0E =
(4.2)
d1
d
d
d
P
+ 2 + 3 + L + TT + TT
ρ E ρ2E ρ3E
ρE ρE
You can see that this model is technically correct, for it is simply the present value of all
the payoffs from the investment that are laid out in Figure 3.3. The problem is that one of
those payoffs is the price that the share will be worth T years ahead, PT. This is awkward, to
say the least: The value of the share at time zero is determined by its expected value in the
future, but it is the value we are trying to assess. To break the circularity, we must investigate fundamentals that determine value.
A method often suggested is to assume that the dividend at the forecast horizon will be
the same forever afterward. Thus
V0E =
⎛ d
⎞
d1
d
d
d
+ 22 + 33 + L + TT + ⎜ T +1 ⎟ / ρTE
ρE ρE ρE
ρ E ⎝ ρ E − 1⎠
(4.3)
Valuing a Perpetuity and
a Perpetuity with Growth
If an amount is forecasted to evolve in a predictable way in the
future, its present value can be captured in a simple calculation. Two examples are a perpetuity and perpetual growth at
a constant rate.
THE VALUE OF A PERPETUITY
A perpetuity is a constant stream that continues without
end. The amount each period is sometimes referred to as an
annuity, so a perpetuity is an annuity that continues forever.
To value that stream, one just capitalizes the constant amount
expected. If the dividend expected next year, d1 is expected to
be a perpetuity, the value of the dividend stream is
V0E =
d1
ρE − 1
4.1
return adjusted for the growth rate:
V0E =
d1
ρE − g
Here g is one plus the growth rate (and ρE is one plus the
required return). So, if a $1 dividend expected next year is
expected to grow at 5% per year in perpetuity, the value of
the stream, with a required return of 10%, is $20. Note that,
in both the case of a perpetuity and a perpetuity with growth,
the value is established at the beginning of the year when the
perpetuity begins. So for a perpetuity beginning in year 1, the
value is at time 0. For a perpetuity beginning at time T + 1 in
models 4.3 and 4.4, the value of the perpetuity is at time T
(and so that value is discounted at ρET , not ρT+1).
E
So, if a dividend of $1 is expected each year forever and the
required return is 10% per year, then the value of the perpetuity is $10.
THE VALUE OF A PERPETUITY WITH GROWTH
If an amount is forecasted to grow at a constant rate, its value
can be calculated by capitalizing the amount at the required
CONSTANT GROWTH MODELS
The calculation for the perpetuity with growth is sometimes referred to as a constant growth valuation model. So the model
with growth above is referred to as the constant growth dividend model (and sometimes as the Gordon growth model
after its exponent). It is a simple model, but applicable only if
constant growth is expected.
The terminal value here (in the bracketed term) is the value of a perpetuity, calculated
by capitalizing the forecasted dividend at T + 1 at the cost of capital. This terminal value is
then discounted to present value.
This perpetuity assumption is a bold one. We are guessing. How do we know the firm
will maintain a constant payout? If there is less than full payout of earnings, one would
expect dividends to grow as the retained funds earn more in the firm. This idea can be
accommodated in a terminal value calculation that incorporates growth:
V0E =
⎛ d
⎞
d1
d
d
d
+ 22 + 33 + L + TT + ⎜ T +1 ⎟ / ρTE
ρE ρE ρE
ρE ⎝ ρE − g ⎠
(4.4)
where g is 1 plus a forecasted growth rate.1 The terminal value here is the value of a perpetuity with growth. If the constant growth starts in the first period, the entire series
collapses to V 0E = d1/(ρE – g), which is sometimes referred to as the constant growth model.
See Box 4.1.
What would we do, however, for a firm that might be expected to have zero payout for a
very long time in the future? For a firm that has exceptionally high payout that can’t be
maintained? What if payout comes in stock repurchases (that typically don’t affect shareholder value) rather than dividends?
The truth of the matter is that dividend payout over the foreseeable future doesn’t mean
much. Some firms pay a lot of dividends, others none. A firm that is very profitable and worth
The capitalization rate in the denominator of the terminal value can be expressed as (ρE − 1) − (g − 1),
which is the same as ρE − g.
1
117
Dividend Discount Analysis
ADVANTAGES
Easy concept: Dividends are what shareholders get, so
forecast them.
Predictability:
Dividends are usually fairly stable in the
short run so dividends are easy to forecast
(in the short run).
4.2
Forecast horizons: Typically requires forecasts for long
periods.
WHEN IT WORKS BEST
When payout is permanently tied to the value generation in
the firm. For example, when a firm has a fixed payout ratio
(dividends/earnings).
DISADVANTAGES
Relevance:
Dividend payout is not related to value, at
least in the short run; dividend forecasts
ignore the capital gain component of
payoffs.
a lot can have zero payout and a firm that is marginally profitable can have high payout, at least
in the short run. Dividends usually are not necessarily tied to value creation. Indeed, firms can
borrow to pay dividends, and this has nothing to do with their investing and operating activities where value is created. Dividends are distributions of value, not the creation of value.
These observations just restate what we covered in the last chapter: Dividends are not relevant to value. To be practical we have to forecast over finite horizons. To do so, the dividend
discount model (equation 4.2) requires us to forecast dividends up to a forecast horizon plus
the terminal price. But payoffs (dividends plus the terminal price) are insensitive to the dividend component: If you expect a stock to pay you more dividends, it will pay off a lower terminal price; if the firm pays out cash, the price will drop by this amount to reflect that value
has left the firm. Any change in dividends will be exactly offset by a price change such that,
in present value terms, the net effect is zero. In other words, paying dividends is a zero-NPV
activity. That’s dividend irrelevance! Dividends do not create value. If dividends are irrelevant, we are left with the task of forecasting the terminal price, but it is price that we are
after. Box 4.2 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of the dividend discount model.
This leaves us with the so-called dividend conundrum: Equity value is based on future
dividends, but forecasting dividends over a finite horizon does not give an indication of
value. The dividend discount model fails the first criterion for a practical analysis established in the last chapter. We have to forecast something else that is tied to the value creation. The model fails the second criterion—validation—also. Dividends can be observed
after the fact, so a dividend forecast can be validated for its accuracy. But a change in a dividend from a forecast may not be related to value at all, just a change in payout policy, so
ex-post dividends cannot validate a valuation.
The failure of the dividend discount model is remedied by looking inside the firm to the
features that do create value—the investing and operating activities. Discounted cash flow
analysis does just that.
THE DISCOUNTED CASH FLOW MODEL
We saw in Chapter 1 that the value of the firm (enterprise value) is equal to the value of the
E
debt plus the value of the equity: V0F = V D
0 + V 0 . The value of the firm is the value of its
investing and operating activities, and this value is divided among the claimants—the
debtholders and shareholders. One can calculate the value of the equity directly by forecasting cash flowing to equity holders, as with the dividend discount model. But one can
118
Chapter 4 Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
FIGURE 4.1
Cash Flows from All
Projects for a Going
Concern.
Free cash flow is cash
flow from operations
that results from
investments minus
cash used to make
investments.
• Cash flows from
operations (inflows)
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
• Cash investment
(outflows)
I1
I2
I3
I4
I5
C1–I1
C2–I2
C3–I3
C4–I4
C5–I5
1
2
3
4
5
• Free cash flow
119
• Time, t
also value the equity by forecasting the cash flowing from the firm’s investing and operating activities (the value of the firm), and then deduct the value of the debt. Discounted cash
flow analysis, by forecasting operating and investing cash flows, values the firm’s operating
and investing activities.
Investing and operating activities are generally referred to simply as operating activities,
with investing in operations implicit. Accordingly, the value of the operations is used to
mean the value of the investing and operating activities of the firm, and the terms, value of
the operations, value of the firm, and enterprise value are the same thing.
We saw in Chapter 3 that we can value a project by forecasting its cash flows. This is a
standard approach in project evaluation. The firm is just a lot of projects combined; to discover the value of the firm, we can calculate the present value of expected cash flows from
all the projects in the firm’s operations. The total cash flow from all projects is referred to
as the cash flow from operations. Going concerns invest in new projects as old ones terminate. Investments require cash outlays, called capital expenditures or cash investment (in
operations).
Figure 4.1 depicts the cash flow from operations, Ct, and the cash outflows for investments, It, for five years for a going concern. After a cash investment is made in a particular
year (Year 2, say), cash flow from operations in subsequent years (Year 3 and beyond) will
include the cash inflow from that project until it terminates. In any particular year, operations yield a net cash flow, the difference between the cash flow from operations (from previous investments) and cash outlays for new investment, Ct − It. This is called free cash flow
because it is the part of the cash from operations that is “free” after the firm reinvests in new
assets.2
If we forecast free cash flows, we can value the firm’s operations by applying the present
value formula:
Value of the firm = Present value of expected free cash flows
V0F =
2
(4.5)
C1 − I1 C2 − I 2 C3 − I 3 C 4 − I 4 C5 − I 5
+
+
+
+
+L
ρF
ρ2F
ρ3F
ρ 4F
ρ5F
Be warned that you will encounter a multitude of “cash flow” definitions in practice: operating cash
flow, free cash flow, financing cash flow, and even ebitda (used to approximate “cash flow” from
operations). You need to understand what is meant when the words cash flow are being used.
120
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
This is a valuation model for the firm, referred to as the discounted cash flow (DCF) model.
The discount rate here is one that is appropriate for the riskiness of the cash flows from all
projects. It is called the cost of capital for the firm or the cost of capital for operations.3
The equity claimants have to share the payoffs from the firm’s operations with the debt
claimants, so the value for the common equity is the value of the firm minus the value of
the net debt: V0E = V0F − V0D. Net debt is the debt the firm holds as liabilities less any debt investments that the firm holds as assets. As we saw in Chapter 2, debt is typically reported
on the balance sheet at close to market value so one can usually subtract the book value of
the net debt. In any case, the market value of the debt is reported, in most cases, in the footnotes to the financial statements. When valuing the common equity, both the debt and the
preferred equity are subtracted from the value of the firm; from the common shareholder’s
point of view, preferred equity is really debt.
You should have noticed something: This model, like the dividend discount model,
requires forecasting over an infinite horizon. If we are to forecast for a finite horizon, we
will have to add value at the horizon for the value of free cash flows after the horizon. This
value is called the continuing value. For a forecast of cash flows for T periods, the value of
equity will be
V0E =
C1 − I1 C2 − I 2 C3 − I 3
C −I
CV
+
+
+ L + T T T + T T − V0D
2
3
ρF
ρF
ρF
ρF
ρF
(4.6)
The continuing value is not the same as the terminal value. The terminal value is the
value we expect the firm to be worth at T, the terminal payoff to selling the firm at T. The
continuing value is the value omitted by the calculation when we forecast only up to T
rather than “to infinity.” The continuing value is the device by which we reduce an infinitehorizon forecasting problem to a finite-horizon one, so our first criterion for practical
analysis is really a question of whether a continuing value can be calculated within a reasonable forecast period. How do we calculate the continuing value so that it captures all
the cash flows expected after T ? Well, we can proceed in the same way as with the dividend discount model if we forecast that the free cash flows after T will be a constant perpetuity. In this case we capitalize the perpetuity:
CVT =
CT +1 − I T +1
ρF − 1
(4.7)
Or, if we forecast free cash flow growing at a constant rate after the horizon, then
CVT =
CT +1 − I T +1
ρF − g
(4.8)
where g is 1 plus the forecasted rate of growth in free cash flow. Look again at Box 4.1.
Exhibit 4.1 reports actual cash flows generated by The Coca-Cola Company from 2000
to 2004. Suppose that the actual cash flows were those you had forecasted—with perfect
foresight—at the end of 1999 when Coke’s shares traded at $57. The exhibit demonstrates
how you might have converted these cash flows to a valuation. Following model 4.6, free
cash flows to 2004 are discounted to present value at the required return of 9%. Then
the present value of a continuing value is added to complete the valuation of the firm
(enterprise value). The continuing value is that for a perpetuity with growth at 5%, as in
3
Chapter 13 covers the cost of capital for operations and how it relates to the cost of capital for equity.
In corporate finance courses, the cost of capital for the firm is often called the weighted-average cost of
capital (WACC).
Chapter 4 Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
EXHIBIT 4.1
Discounted Cash
Flow Valuation for
The Coca-Cola
Company
(In millions of dollars
except share and pershare numbers.)
Required return for the
firm is 9%.
1999
Cash from operations
Cash investments
Free cash flow
Discount rate (1.09)t
Present value of free cash flows
Total present value to 2004
Continuing value (CV)*
Present value of CV
Enterprise value
Book value of net debt
90,611
104,978
4,435
E
Value of equity (V1999
)
Shares outstanding
Value per share
100,543
2,472
$40.67
121
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
3,657
947
2,710
4,097
1,187
2,910
4,736
1,167
3,569
5,457
906
4,551
5,929
618
5,311
1.09
1.1881
1.2950
1.4116
1.5386
2,486
2,449
2,756
3,224
3,452
14,367
139,414
5,311 × 1.05
CV = 1.09 − 1.05 = 139,414
*
Present value of CV =
139,414
1.5386
= 90,611
EXHIBIT 4.2
A Firm with Negative
Free Cash Flows:
General Electric
Company
(In millions of dollars,
except per share
amounts.)
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Cash from operations
Cash investments
Free cash flow
30,009
37,699
(7,690)
39,398
40,308
(910)
34,848
61,227
(26,379)
36,102
21,843
14,259
36,484
38,414
(1,930)
Earnings
Earnings per share (EPS)
Dividends per share (DPS)
12,735
1.29
0.57
13,684
1.38
0.66
14,118
1.42
0.73
15,002
1.50
0.77
16,593
1.60
0.82
calculation 4.8: Free cash flows are expected to grow at 5% per year after 2004 indefinitely.
The book value of net debt is subtracted from enterprise value to yield equity value of
$100,543 million, or $40.67 per share. The value to price ratio is $40.67/$57 = 0.71.
Here are the steps to follow for a DCF valuation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Forecast free cash flows to a horizon.
Discount the free cash flows to present value.
Calculate a continuing value at the horizon with an estimated growth rate.
Discount the continuing value to the present.
Add 2 and 4.
Subtract net debt.
Free Cash Flow and Value Added
One can conclude that Coke is worth $40.67 per share because it can generate considerable
cash flows. But now look at Exhibit 4.2 where cash flows are given for General Electric for
the same five years. GE earned one of the highest stock returns of all U.S. companies from
1993–2004, yet its free cash flows are negative for all years except 2003.
Suppose you were thinking of buying GE in 1999. Suppose also that, again with perfect
foresight, you knew then what GE’s cash flows were going to be and had sought to apply a
DCF valuation. Well, the free cash flows are negative in all but one year and their present
value is negative! The last cash flow in 2004 is also negative, so it can’t be capitalized to
DCF Valuation and Speculation
Valuation is a matter of disciplining speculation about the
future. In choosing a valuation technology, two of the fundamentalist’s tenets come into play: Don’t mix what you know
with speculation and Anchor a valuation on what you know
rather than on speculation. A method that puts less weight on
speculation is to be preferred, and methods that admit speculation are to be shunned. We know more about the present
and the near future than about the long run, so methods that
give weight to what we observe at present and what we
forecast for the near future are preferred to those that rely on
speculation about the long run. To slightly misapply Keynes’s
famous saying, in the long run we are all dead. This consideration is behind the criterion that a good valuation technology
is one that yields a valuation with finite-horizon forecasts, and
the shorter the horizon the better. Going concerns continue
into the long run, of course, so some speculation about the
long run is inevitable. But, if a valuation rides on speculation
about the long run—about which we know little—we have a
speculative, uncertain valuation indeed.
Discounted cash flow valuation lends itself to speculation.
The General Electric case in Exhibit 4.2 is a good example. An
analyst trying to value the firm in 1999 may have a reasonably
good feel for likely free cash flows in the near future, 2000
4.3
and 2001, but that would do her little good. Indeed, if she
forecast the cash flows over the five years, 2000–2004 with
some confidence, that would do little good. These cash flows
are negative, so she is forced to forecast (speculate!) about
free cash flows that may turn positive many years in the
future. In 2010, 2015, 2020? These cash flows are hard to
predict; they are very uncertain. In the long run we are all
dead. A banker or analyst trying to justify a valuation might
like the method, of course, for it is tolerant to plugging in any
numbers, but a serious fundamental analyst does not want to
be caught with such speculation.
Speculation about the long run is contained in the continuing value calculation. So another way of invoking our principles is to say that a valuation is less satisfactory the more
weight it places on the continuing value calculation. You can
see with GE that, because cash flows up to 2004 are negative,
a continuing value calculation drawn at the end of 2004
would be more than 100% of the valuation. A valuation
weighted toward forecasts for the near term—years 2000 to
2002, say—is preferable, for we are more certain about the
near term than the long run. But GE’s near term cash flows do
not lend themselves to a valuation.
yield a continuing value. And if, in 2004, you had looked back on the free cash flows GE
had produced, you surely would not have concluded that they indicate the value added to
the stock price.
Why does DCF valuation not work in some cases? The short answer is that free cash
flow does not measure value added from operations over a period. Cash flow from operations is value flowing into the firm from selling products but it is reduced by cash investment. If a firm invests more cash in operations than it takes in from operations, its free cash
flow is negative. And even if investment is zero NPV or adds value, free cash flow is
reduced, and so is its present value. Investment is treated as a “bad” rather than a “good.”
Of course, the return to investments will come later in cash flow from operations, but the
more investing the firm does for a longer period in the future, the longer the forecasting
horizon has to be to capture these cash inflows. GE has continually found new investment
opportunities so its investment has been greater than its cash inflow. Many growth firms—
that generate a lot of value—have negative free cash flows. The exercises and cases at the
end of the chapter give examples of two other very successful firms—Wal-Mart and Home
Depot—with negative free cash flows.
Free cash flow is not really a concept about adding value in operations. It confuses investments (and the value they create) with the payoffs from investments, so it is partly an
investment or a liquidation concept. A firm decreases its free cash flow by investing and increases it by liquidating or reducing its investments. But a firm is worth more if it invests
profitably, not less. If an analyst forecasts low or negative free cash flow for the next few
years, would we take this as a lack of success in operations? GE’s positive free cash flow
in 2003 might have been seen as bad news because it resulted mostly from a decrease in
122
Chapter 4 Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
123
investment. Indeed, Coke’s increasing cash flows in 2003 and 2004 in Exhibit 4.1 result
partly from a decrease in investment. Decreasing investment means lower future cash
flows, calling into question the 5% growth used in Coke’s continuing value calculation. Exercise 4.7 rolls Coke forward to 2006–2007 where you see similar difficulties emerging.
Free cash flow would be a measure of value from operations if cash receipts were
matched in the same period with the cash investments that generated them. Then we would
have value received less value surrendered to gain it. But in DCF analysis, cash receipts
from investments are recognized in periods after the investment is made, and this can force
us to forecast over long horizons to capture value. DCF analysis violates the matching principle (see Box 2.3 in Chapter 2).
A solution to the GE problem is to have a very long forecast horizon. But this offends
the first criterion of practical analysis that we established in Chapter 3. See Box 4.3.
Another practical problem is that free cash flows are not what professionals forecast.
Analysts usually forecast earnings, not free cash flow, probably because earnings, not free
cash flow, are a measure of success in operations. To convert an analyst’s forecast to a valuation using DCF analysis, we have to convert the earnings forecast to a free cash forecast.
This can be done by subtracting accrued components from earnings but not without further
analysis. Box 4.4 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of DCF analysis.
SIMPLE VALUATION MODELS
Box 4.3 identified the continuing value component as the most speculative part of a valuation. To apply the fundamentalist’s tenet, Don’t mix what you know with speculation, he
might set a forecast horizon on the basis of forecasts about which he is relatively sure—
what he knows—and use a continuing value calculation at the end of the forecast period
to summarize his speculation. So, if a Coke analyst felt he could forecast cash flows in
Exhibit 4.1 for 2000–2004 with some precision, he might work with a five-year forecasting
horizon and then add speculation about the long term in the continuing value. He has then
effectively separated what he knows from speculation.
In practice, one usually does not feel comfortable with a forecast for five years. Analysts
typically provide point estimates (of earnings) for only two years ahead, and their “longterm growth rates” after two years are notoriously bad. A simple valuation model forecasts
for shorter periods. The most simple model forecasts for just one period and then adds
speculation with a growth rate. For the dividend discount model in Box 4.1, the Gordon
growth model is a simple model. For DCF valuation, a simple model is
V0E =
C1 − I1
− Net debt
ρE − g
(4.9)
Applying the model to Coke’s 2000 free cash flow with the same growth rate of 5%, as in
Exhibit 4.1.
E
V1999
= $63, 315 =
2, 710
− $4, 435
1.09 − 1.05
This valuation, in millions, is considerably less than the $100,543 million calculated in
Exhibit 4.1. But it serves as a benchmark in the analyst’s thinking to check his speculation:
How sure am I about the higher growth in the forecasts for years after 2000 in Exhibit 4.1?
Can I justify my forecasts and the higher valuation with sound analysis?
Discounted Cash Flow Analysis
ADVANTAGES
Forecast horizons:
Typically, long forecast horizons are
required to recognize cash inflows
from investments, particularly when
investments are growing. Continuing values have a high weight in the
valuation.
Not aligned with
what people
forecast:
Analysts forecast earnings, not free
cash flow; adjusting earnings forecasts to free cash flow forecasts requires further forecasting of accruals.
Easy concept: Cash flows are “real” and easy to think
about; they are not affected by accounting
rules.
Familiarity:
Cash flow valuation is a straightforward
application of familiar present value
techniques.
DISADVANTAGES
Suspect
concept:
Free cash flow does not measure value
added in the short run; value gained is not
matched with value given up.
Free cash flow fails to recognize value
generated that does not involve cash flows.
Investment is treated as a loss of value.
Free cash flow is partly a liquidation concept; firms increase free cash flow by cutting back on investments.
4.4
WHEN IT WORKS BEST
When the investment pattern produces positive constant free
cash flow or free cash flow growing at a constant rate;
a “cash cow” business.
DCF applies when equity investments are terminal or the
investor needs to “cash out,” as in leverage buyout situations
and private equity investments: where the ability to generate
cash is important.
THE STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
Cash flows are reported in the statement of cash flows, so forecasting cash flows amounts
to preparing pro forma cash flow statements for the future. But the cash flows in a U.S.
statement (prepared following GAAP) are not quite what we want for DCF analysis.
Exhibit 4.3 gives “cash flows from operating activities” and “cash flows from investing
activities” from the statement of cash flows for Dell, Inc., for fiscal year 2008. The extract
is from Dell’s full cash flow statement, provided in Exhibit 2.1 in Chapter 2. Dell reported
2008 cash flow from operations of $3,949 million and cash used in investing of $1,763 million, so its free cash flow appears to be the difference, $2,186 million.
Cash flow from operations is calculated in the statement as net income less items in income
that do not involve cash flows. (These noncash items are the accruals, to be discussed later in
the chapter.) But net income includes interest payments, which are not part of operations but
rather financing activities. Interest payments are cash flows to debtholders out of the cash generated by operations. They are financing flows. Firms are required to report the amount of interest paid as supplementary information to the cash flow statement; Dell reported $54 million in 2008 (see Exhibit 4.3). Net income also includes income (usually interest) earned on
excess cash that is temporarily invested in interest-bearing deposits and marketable securities
like bonds. These investments are not investments in operations. Rather, they are investments
to store excess cash until it can be invested in operations later, or to pay off debt or pay dividends later. Dell had over $9 billion of interest-bearing securities on its 2008 balance sheet
(in Chapter 2). The supplementary information in Exhibit 4.3 reports $387 million of investment income on these securities. This interest income from the investments was not cash generated by operations.
The difference between interest payments and interest receipts is called net interest
payments. In the United States, net interest payments are included in cash flow from
124
125
Chapter 4 Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
EXHIBIT 4.3
DELL, Inc.
Operating and
Investing Portion of
the 2008 Cash Flow
Statement for Dell,
Inc.
Partial Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
(in millions of dollars)
Fiscal Year Ended
February 1,
2008
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash
provided by operating activities
Depreciation and amortization
$ 2,947
Stock-based compensation
In-process research and development charges
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation
Tax benefits from employee stock plans
Effects of exchange rate changes on monetary assets
and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies
Other
Changes in
Operating working capital
Noncurrent assets and liabilities
Net cash provided by operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Investments
Purchases
Maturities and sales
Capital expenditures
Acquisition of business, net of cash received
Proceeds from sale of building
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities
Supplemental information
Interest paid
Investment income, primarily interest
February 2,
2007
February 3,
2006
$ 2,583
$ 3,602
394
607
471
329
83
(12)
368
—
(80)
—
—
17
—
—
224
30
133
37
61
(3)
157
(519)
351
3,949
397
132
3,969
(53)
413
4,751
(2,394)
3,679
(831)
(2,217)
—
(1,763)
(8,343)
10,320
(896)
(118)
40
(1,003)
(6,796)
11,692
(747)
—
—
(4,149)
$
54
387
$
57
275
$
39
226
Source: Dell, Inc., 10-K filing, 2008.
operations,4 so they must be added back to the reported free cash flows from operations to
get the actual cash that operations generated. However, interest receipts are taxable and interest payments are deductions for assessing taxable income, so net interest payments must
be adjusted for the tax payments they attract or save. The net effect of interest and taxes is
after-tax net interest payments, calculated as net interest payments × (1 – tax rate). Cash
flow from operations is
Cash flow from operations = Reported cash flow from operations
+ After-tax net interest payments
4
(4.10)
International accounting standards permit firms to classify net interest payments either as part of
operations or as a financing cash flow.
Calculating Free Cash Flow
from the Cash Flow Statement
4.5
DELL, Inc., 2008
(in millions of dollars)
Reported cash flow from operations
Interest payments
Interest income*
Net interest payments
Taxes (35%)†
Net interest payments after tax (65%)
Cash flow from operations
Reported cash used in investing activities
Purchases of interest-bearing securities
Sales of interest-bearing securities
Cash investment in operations
Free cash flow
3,949
54
(387)
(333)
117
(216)
3,733
1,763
2,394
(3,679)
1,285
3,048
685
*
Interest payments are given as supplemental data to the statement of cash flows, but interest receipts usually are not. Interest income (from the income statement) is used
instead; this includes accruals but is usually close to the cash interest received.
†
Dell’s statutory tax rate (for federal and state taxes) is 35 percent, as indicated in the financial statement footnotes.
The first part of Box 4.5 calculates Dell’s cash flow from operations from its reported
number. For many firms, interest payments are greater than interest receipts (unlike here),
so cash flow from operations is usually larger than the reported number.
The U.S. statement of cash flows has a section headed “cash flow from investing activities.” But the investments there include the “investments” of excess cash in interest-bearing
securities. These are not investments in Dell’s computer operations, so
Cash investment in operations = Reported cash flow from investing
(4.11)
– Net investment in interest-bearing securities
Net investment is investments minus liquidations (purchases minus sales) of investments.
Dell’s revised cash investment in operations is given in Box 4.5, along with its free cash
flow. The adjusted investment in operations is now equal to the sum of capital expenditures
and costs of acquisitions.
Cash flow from operations is sometimes referred to as the unlevered cash flow from operations but the “unlevered” is redundant. The reported cash flow from operations is sometimes
called the levered cash flow from operations because it includes the interest from leverage
through debt financing. But levered cash flow is not a useful measure. Dividends are the cash
flows to shareholders and these are calculated after servicing not just interest but the repayment
of principal to debtholders also.
The Cash Flow Statement under IFRS
The cash flow statement under IFRS is similar to the U.S. statement, with a few exceptions:
1. Firms can classify dividends paid and received as either operating or financing activity.
If a firm chooses to classify dividends paid as an operating activity, the analyst must
transfer it to the financing section: Dividends paid are a distribution of cash from operations to shareholders, not cash used up in operations. But dividends received are
126
Converting Earnings Numbers
to Free Cash Flow
4.6
DELL, INC., 2008
A COMMON APPROXIMATION
FROM THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT
(in million of dollars)
(in millions of dollars)
Earnings
Accrual adjustment
Levered cash flows from operations
Interest payments
Interest receipts
Net interest payments
Tax at 35%
Cash flow from operations
Cash investment in operations
Free cash flow
2,947
1,002
3,949
54
(387)
(333)
117
(216)
3,733
3,048
685
Earnings before interest and taxes (ebit)
Taxes on ebit (at 35%)
+ Depreciation and amortization
607
+ Change in operating working capital 519
Cash flow from operations
− Cash investments:
Capital expenditures
831
Acquisitions
2,217
Free cash flow
3,440
1,204
2,236
1,126
3,362
3,048
314
Change in operating working capital is the change in current assets minus current liabilities after eliminating cash and cash equivalents, short term investments and short-term
borrowings, and deferred taxes. The number on the cash flow statement is used here.
As the second method is only an approximation, the two methods differ. Accrual items in Dell’s cash
flow statement other than depreciation and amortization and change in operating working capital
have been ignored in the approximation. Note that is it common to deduct only capital expenditures
(Cap-Ex) as investments, but one must ensure that the number includes all investment expenditures
such as acquisitions.
appropriately operating items if they are dividends from investing in other businesses as
part of the business plan.
2. Firms can classify interest paid and received as either operating or financing activity. If
classified as an operating activity, the analyst must adjust cash from operations for the
net interest (after tax), as in the United States (equation 4.10).
3. Taxes paid are in cash from operations (as in the United States), unless they can be
specifically identifiable with a financing or investing activity.
Purchases and sales of interest-bearing securities are classified as cash investing activities, as
in the United States, so the same adjustment to cash investment must be made (equation 4.11).
Forecasting Free Cash Flows
For DCF analysis we need forecasts of free cash flow that will be reported in the cash flow
statement in the future. However, developing such forecasts without first forecasting sales
and earnings is difficult. These are accrual numbers, so forecasts of free cash flow are made
by converting earnings forecasts into forecasts of cash flows from operations, then deducting anticipated investment in operations. The difference between earnings (net income) and
cash from operations is due to income statement accruals, the noncash items in net
income, and these accruals are indicated by the difference between net income and cash
from operations in the cash flow statement. The accruals in Dell’s 2008 statement total
$1,002 million. Deducting these accruals from net income—and making the adjustment for
after-tax interest—produces cash flow from operations. Box 4.6 shows you how to convert
127
128
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
Dell’s earnings to cash flow from operations and, with a deduction for new investments in
operations, to free cash flow.
Forecasting future accruals is not all that easy. People resort to shortcuts by forecasting
earnings before interest and taxes (ebit), deducting taxes that apply to ebit, then making
the accrual adjustment by adding back depreciation and amortization (in the cash flow
statement) plus the change in working capital items involved in operations. This is only an
approximation, and somewhat cumbersome. We will show a much more direct and quicker
way to do this in Chapter 10 after handling balance sheets and income statements in our
finanical statement analysis in Chapter 9. The common method that starts with ebit is
demonstrated for Dell in Box 4.6.
We must ask whether the exercise of converting earnings forecasts to cash flows is a
useful one, particularly if we end up with the negative free cash flows we saw for General
Electric in Exhibit 4.2. Can we value a firm from earnings forecasts rather than cash flow
forecasts and save ourselves the work in making the conversion? The answer is yes. Indeed
we will now show that taking the accruals out of earnings can actually introduce more complications to the valuation task and produce a more speculative valuation.
CASH FLOW, EARNINGS, AND ACCRUAL ACCOUNTING
Analysts forecast earnings rather than cash flows. And the stock market appears to value
firms on the basis of expected earnings: A firm’s failure to meet analysts’ earnings forecasts
typically results in a drop in share price, while beating earnings expectations usually results
in an increased share price.
There are good reasons to forecast earnings rather than free cash flows if we have valuation in mind. The difference between earnings and cash flow from operations is the accruals. We now show how accruals in principle capture value added in operations that cash
flows do not. And we also show how accrual accounting treats investment differently from
cash accounting to remedy the problems we have just seen in forecasting free cash flows.
Earnings and Cash Flows
Exhibit 4.4 gives the statement of income for Dell, Inc., for fiscal 2008 along with prior
years’ comparative statements. The income statement recognizes value inflows from selling
products in revenues and reduces revenues by the value outflows in expenses to yield a net
number, net income, as we saw in Chapter 2.
There are three things you should notice about income statements:
1. Dividends do not appear in the statement. Dividends are a distribution of value, not a
part of the value generation. So they do not determine the measure of value added, earnings. Dividends do reduce shareholders’ value in the firm, however; appropriately, they
reduce the book value of equity in the balance sheet. Accountants get this right.
2. Investment is not subtracted in the income statement, so the value-added earnings number is not affected by investment, unlike free cash flow. (An exception is investment in
research and development, so the value-added measure may be distorted in this case.)
3. There is a matching of value inflows (revenues) to value outflows (expenses). Accountants follow the matching principle, which says that expenses should be recorded in the
same period that the revenues they generate are recognized, as we saw in Chapter 2. Value
surrendered is matched with value gained to get net value added from selling goods or
services. Thus, for example, only those inventory costs that apply to goods sold during
a period are recognized as value given up in cost of sales (and the remaining costs—
value not yet given up—are recorded as inventories in the balance sheet); and a cost to
Chapter 4 Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
EXHIBIT 4.4
129
DELL, Inc.
Income Statements
for Dell, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Income
(amounts in millions)
Fiscal Year Ended
Net revenue
Cost of net revenue
Gross margin
Operating expenses
Selling, general and administrative
In-process research and development
Research, development, and engineering
Total operating expenses
Operating income
Investment and other income, net
Income before income taxes
Income tax provision
Net income
February 1,
2008
February 2,
2007
February 3,
2006
$61,133
$57,420
$55,788
49,462
11,671
47,904
9,516
45,897
9,891
7,538
83
610
5,948
—
498
5,051
—
458
8,231
6,446
5,509
3,440
387
3,827
880
3,070
275
3,345
762
4,382
226
4,608
1,006
$ 2,947
$ 2,583
$ 3,602
Source: Dell, Inc., 10-K filing, 2008.
pay pensions to employees arising from their service during the current period is
reported as an expense in generating revenue for the period even though the cash flow
(during the employees’ retirement) may be many years later (and a corresponding
pension liability is recorded in the balance sheet). Dell reported 2008 revenues of
$61,133 million from the sale of computers and related products. Against this, it
matched $49,462 million for the cost of the products sold and another $8,231 million in
operating expenses, to report $3,440 million as operating income before taxes—value
received less value given up in operations.
Cash flow from operations adds value and is incorporated in the revenue and expenses.
But to effect the matching of revenues and expenses, the accountant modifies cash flows
from operations with the accruals. Accruals are measures of noncash value flows.
Accruals
These are of two types, revenue accruals and expense accruals.
Revenues are recorded when value is received from sales of products. To measure this
value inflow, revenue accruals recognize value increases that are not cash flows and subtract
cash inflows that are not value increases. The most common revenue accruals are receivables:
A sale on credit is considered an increase in value even though cash has not been received.
Correspondingly, cash received in advance of a sale is not included in revenue because value
is not deemed to have been added: The recognition of value is deferred (as deferred or
unearned revenue) until such time as the goods are shipped and the sale is completed.
Revenue for a period is calculated as
Revenue = Cash receipts from sales + New sales on credit − Cash received for previous
periods’ sales − Estimated sales returns − Deferred revenue for cash received
in advance of sale + Revenue previously deferred to the current period
130
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
You will notice in this calculation that estimated returns of goods and deferred revenue are
accruals. They are amounts that are judged not to add value. Revenue, after these adjustments, is sometimes called net revenue.
Expense accruals recognize value given up in generating revenue that is not a cash flow
and adjust cash outflows that are not value given up. Cash payments are modified by
accruals as follows:
Expense = Cash paid for expenses + Amounts incurred in generating revenues but not
yet paid − Cash paid for generating revenues in future periods + Amounts
paid in the past for generating revenues in the current period
Pension expense is an example of an expense incurred in generating revenue that will
not be paid until later. Wages payable is another example. A prepaid wage for work in the
future is an example of cash paid for expenses in advance. Depreciation arises from cash
flows in the past for investments in plant. Plants wear out. Depreciation is that part of the
cost of the investment that is deemed to be used up in producing the revenue of the current
period. Dell’s expenses have cash and accrual components. Income tax expense, for example, includes taxes due for the period but not paid and cost of goods sold excludes cash paid
for production of computers that have not yet been sold.
Total accruals for a period are reported as the difference between net income and cash
flow from operations in the statement of cash flows. Reported cash flows from operations
are after interest, so
Earnings = Levered cash flow from operations + Accruals
Earnings = (C − i) + Accruals
(4.12)
This is another accounting relation to be added to those discussed in Chapter 2. See
Box 4.7. We use C to indicate (unlevered) cash flow from operations, as before, and i to
indicate after-tax net interest payments, so C − i is levered cash flow from operations. We
see in Exhibit 4.3 that Dell had $1,002 million in accruals in 2008. That is, $1,002 million
less value was deemed to have been added in earnings of $2,947 million than in levered
cash flows from operations of $3,949 million.
Accruals change the timing for recognizing value in the financial statements from when
cash flows occur. Recognizing a receivable as revenue or recognizing an increase in a pension
obligation as expense recognizes value ahead of the future cash flow; recognizing deferred
revenue or depreciation recognizes value later than cash flow. In all cases, the concept is to
match value inflows and outflows to get a measure of value added in selling products in the
market. Timing is important to our first criterion for practical valuation analysis, a reasonably
short forecast horizon. You readily see how recognizing a pension expense 30 years before
the cash flow at retirement is going to shorten the forecast horizon. We will now see how deferring recognition until after a cash flow also will shorten the forecast horizon.
Investments
The performance measure in DCF analysis is free cash flow, not cash flow from operations.
Free cash flow is cash generated from operations after cash investments, C – I, and we saw
that investments are troublesome in the DCF calculation because they are treated as
decreases in value. But investments are made to generate value; they lose value only later
as the assets are used up in operations. The value lost in operations occurs after the cash
flow. The earnings calculation recognizes this:
Earnings = Free cash flow − Net cash interest + Investments + Accruals (4.13)
Earnings = (C − I ) − i + I + Accruals
Accounting Relations
Cash flow from operations
− Net interest payments (after tax)
+ Accruals
= Earnings
−
+
+
=
4.7
Add these accounting relations to those in Chapter 2
(Box 2.1). They are tools for analysis.
Free cash flow
Net interest payments (after tax)
Accruals
Investments
Earnings
Accrual accounting adds back investment to free cash flow. Because it places investment
in the balance sheet as assets, it does not affect income. Then it recognizes decreases in
those assets in subsequent periods in the form of depreciation accruals (and other amortizations) as assets lose value in generating revenue. Look at Box 4.7 again.
To appreciate the full details of how accrual accounting works, you must grasp a good deal
of detail. Here we have seen only a broad outline of how the accounting works to measure
value flows. This will be embellished later—particularly in Part Four of the book—but now
would be a good time to review a financial accounting text and go to Accounting Clinic II.
The outline of earnings measurement here nominally describes how the accounting
works and our expression for earnings above looks like a good way to measure value added.
But there is no guarantee that a particular set of accounting rules—U.S. GAAP or international accounting standards, for example—achieves the ideal. Yes, depreciation nominally
matches value lost to value gained, but whether this is achieved depends on how the depreciation is actually measured. This is true for all accruals. Cash flows are objective, but the
accruals depend on accounting rules, and these rules may not be good ones. Indeed, in the
case of depreciation, firms can choose from different methods. Many accruals involve estimates, which offer a potential for error. Accruals can be manipulated to some degree. And
you see in Dell’s income statement that R&D expenditures are expensed in the income
statement even though they are investments. These observations suggest that the valueadded measure, net income, may be mismeasured, so a valuation technique based on forecasting earnings must accommodate this mismeasurement. Indeed, one rationale for DCF
analysis is that the accounting is so suspect that one must subtract or “back out” the accruals from income statements to get to the “real cash flows.” We have seen in this chapter that
Accounting Clinic
HOW ACCRUAL ACCOUNTING WORKS
Accounting Clinic II, on the book’s Web site, lays out in
more detail how accrual accounting works and contrasts
accrual accounting with cash accounting. After going
through this clinic you will understand how and when revenues are recorded and why cash received from customers
is not the same as revenues recorded under accrual
accounting. You also will understand how accrual
II
accounting records expenses. You will see how the
matching principle—to measure value added—that was
introduced in Chapter 2 is applied through the rules of
accrual accounting. You also will recognize those cases
where GAAP violates the principle of good matching.
And you will appreciate how accrual accounting affects
not only the income statement but also the balance
sheet.
131
132
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
this induces problems, however. We will come back to the quality of accrual accounting
throughout the book.
Accruals, Investments, and the Balance Sheet
Exhibit 4.5 is Dell’s 2008 comparative balance sheet. The investments (which are not
placed in the income statement) are there—inventories, land, buildings, equipment, and
intangible assets. But the statement also has accruals. Shareholders’ equity is assets minus
liabilities, so one cannot affect the shareholders’ equity through earnings without affecting
assets and liabilities also. The cash flow component of earnings affects cash on the balance
sheet and the accrual component affects other balance sheet items. That is why some accrual adjustments in the statement of cash flows are expressed as changes in balance sheet
items. Credit sales, recognized as a revenue accrual on Dell’s income statement, produce
receivables on Dell’s balance sheet and estimates of bad debts and sales returns reduce net
receivables. Inventories are costs incurred ahead of matching against revenue in the future.
Dell’s property, plant, and equipment are investments whose costs will later be matched
against revenues as the assets are used up in producing those revenues. On the liability side,
Dell’s accrued liabilities and payables are accruals. Accrued marketing and promotion
costs, for example, are costs incurred in generating revenue but not yet paid for.
Indeed all balance sheet items, apart from cash, investments that absorb excess cash, and
debt and equity financing items, result from either investment or accruals. To modify free
cash flow according to the accounting relation (equation 4.13), investments and accruals
are put in the balance sheet. And in some cases, balance sheet items involve both investment and accruals. Net property, plant, and equipment in Dell’s balance sheet is investment
reduced by accumulated accruals for depreciation, for example.
Figure 4.2 depicts how cash flows and accruals affect the income statement and balance
sheet. This figure is an embellishment of Figure 2.1 in Chapter 2. Net cash flow from all
activities updates cash on the balance sheet, as in Figure 2.1. Its component cash flows from
operating, investing, and financing activities update other aspects of the balance sheet:
Equity financing cash flows update shareholders’ equity (through the statement of shareholders’ equity), debt financing cash flows update liabilities, and cash investments update assets other than cash in the balance sheet. And cash flow from operations update shareholders’ equity as a component of earnings. But just as cash flow from operations updates both
shareholders’ equity and cash, so accruals update both shareholders’ equity (as a component
of earnings) and assets and liabilities other than cash. Box 4.8 gives some examples of specific accruals and how they affect both the income statement and the balance sheet.
The accruals in the balance sheet take on a meaning of their own, either as assets or
liabilities. An asset is something that will generate future benefits. Accounts receivable are
assets because they are cash to be received from customers in the future. Inventories are
assets because they can generate sales and ultimately cash in the future. A liability is an
obligation to give up value in the future. Accrued compensation, for example, is a liability
to pay wages; a pension liability, an obligation to pay pension benefits. And accruals that
reduce investments are reductions of assets. Property, plant, and equipment are assets from
investment but subtracting accumulated depreciation recognizes that some of the ability to
generate future cash has been given up in earning revenues to date. So net assets (assets
minus liabilities) are anticipated value that comes from investment but also anticipated
value that is recognized by accruals.
The net assets give the book value of shareholders’ equity, $3,735 million for Dell in
2008. We observed in Chapter 2 that these net assets are typically not measured at the
(intrinsic) value of the equity. We now see why. The cash, debt investments, and debt
liabilities are often close to their appropriate values. But the assets and liabilities that are a
Chapter 4 Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
EXHIBIT 4.5
Balance Sheets for
Dell, Inc.
133
DELL, Inc.
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
(in millions of dollars)
Fiscal Year Ended
February 1, 2008
February 2, 2007
$ 7,764
$ 9,546
208
5,961
1,732
752
4,622
1,530
1,180
3,035
19,880
660
2,829
19,939
2,668
1,560
2,409
2,147
407
1,648
780
618
$ 27,561
323
110
45
662
$ 25,635
$
$
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Short-term investments
Accounts receivable, net of allowance
Financing receivables, net of allowance
Inventories, net of allowance
Other
Total current assets
Property, plant, and equipment, net of depreciation
Investments
Long-term financing receivables, net of allowance
Goodwill
Intangible assets, net of amortization
Other noncurrent assets
Total assets
Liabilities and Equity
Current liabilities
Short-term borrowings
Accounts payable
Accrued and other
Short-term deferred service revenue
Total current liabilities
Long-term debt
Long-term deferred service revenue
Other noncurrent liabilities
Total liabilities
Commitments and contingencies
Redeemable common stock and capital in excess of $.01 par value;
shares issued and outstanding: 4 and 5, respectively
Stockholders’ equity
Preferred stock and capital in excess of $.01 par value;
shares issued and outstanding: none
Common stock and capital in excess of $.01 par value;
shares authorized 7,000; shares issued: 3,320 and 3,307,
respectively; shares outstanding: 2,060 and 2,226, respectively
Treasury stock at cost: 785 and 606 shares, respectively
Retained earnings
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
Total stockholders’ equity
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity
Source: Dell, Inc., 10-K filing, 2008.
225
11,492
4,323
2,486
18,526
362
2,774
2,070
23,732
—
188
10,430
5,141
2,032
17,791
569
2,189
647
21,196
—
94
111
—
—
10,589
(25,037)
18,199
10,107
(21,033)
15,282
(16)
3,735
(28)
4,328
$ 27,561
$ 25,635
134
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
FIGURE 4.2
Beginning Stocks
The Articulation of
the Financial
Statements through
the Recording of
Cash Flows and
Accruals between
Time 0 and Time 1
Flows
Ending Stocks
Cash Flow
Statement—Year 1
Cash from operations
Cash from investing
Debt financing
Equity financing
Ending Balance
Sheet—Year 0
Net change in cash
Statement of Shareholders'
Equity—Year 1
Cash0
Owner's equity0
Cash1
+ Other assets1
+ Other assets0
Total assets0
– Liabilities0
Ending Balance
Sheet—Year 1
Investment and
disinvestment by owners
Earnings
Total assets1
– Liabilities1
Owner's equity1
Net change in owner's
equity
Income Statement—
Year 1
Cash from operations
+ Accruals
Net income
(1) Net cash flows from all activities increases cash in the balance sheet.
(2) Cash from operations plus accruals increases net income and shareholders equity.
(3) Cash investments increase other assets.
(4) Cash from debt financing increases liabilities.
(5) Cash from equity financing increases shareholders’ equity.
(6) Accruals increase net income, shareholders’ equity, assets, and liabilities.
result of accrual accounting are measured at the amount of cash investment in the assets
(referred to as historical cost) plus the accruals made to effect matching in the income
statement. Historical cost accounting refers to the practice of recording investments at
their cash cost and then adding accruals. Historical cost is not the value of an investment;
it’s the cost incurred to generate value. Accruals are value added (or lost) over cash from
operations from selling products. But they are accounting measures of value added that
may not be perfect. And, more important, they are only value that has been added to operations to date. The value of investments is based on value to be added in operations in the
future. Thus we expect the value of equity to be different from its book value. We expect
shares to be worth a premium or discount over book value. GAAP historical cost accounting, through impairment rules, requires assets to be written down if their value is judged to
be below their book value but does not permit most business assets to be written up above
historical cost. We therefore expect premiums typically to be positive, which, of course,
they are.
Accrual Accounting: Examples
4.8
Here are some examples of accrual accounting and the way it affects the income statement and the balance sheet:
Accrual Item
Effect on
Income Statement
Effect on
Balance Sheet
Booking a sale before cash is received
Booking rent expense before paying cash
Paying rent in advance
Booking wages expense before paying cash
Booking the cost of pensions
Paying wages in advance
Purchasing inventories
Selling inventories
Purchasing plant and equipment
Increase in revenue
Increase in rent expense
No effect
Increase in wages expense
Increase pension wages expense
No effect
No effect
Increase in cost of goods sold
No effect
Recognizing depreciation of plant
Recognizing interest due but not paid
Recognizing taxes due to the government
Recognizing taxes that ultimately will
be paid on reported income but which
are not yet due to the government
Increase in depreciation expense
Increase interest expense
Increase in tax expense
Increase tax expense
Increase in accounts receivable
Increase in rent payable
Increase in prepaid expenses
Increase in wages payable
Increase pension liability
Increase in prepaid expenses
Increase in inventories
Decrease in inventories
Increase in property, plant, and
equipment (PPE)
Decrease in PPE
Increase interest payable
Increase in taxes payable
Increase deferred taxes
Summary
A valuation model is a tool for thinking about the value creation in a business and translating
that thinking into a valuation. This chapter introduced the dividend discount model and the
discounted cash flow model. These models forecast cash flows. The dividend discount model
focuses on the cash flow distributions to shareholders (dividends); the discounted cash flow
model focuses on the investing and operating activities of the firm, where value is generated.
The chapter demonstrated, however, that dividends and cash flows from investing and operating activities, summarized in free cash flow, are doubtful measures of value added. Indeed,
as a value-added measure, free cash flow is perverse. Firms reduce free cash flows by investing, whereas investment is made to generate value. Thus very profitable firms with investment
opportunities, like General Electric, generate negative free cash flow. Firms increase free cash
flow by liquidating investments. So we preferred to call free cash flow a liquidation concept
rather than a value-added concept and, in doing, so called into question the idea of forecasting
free cash flows to value firms. We recognized, of course, that forecasting free cash flows for the
long run captures value. But that goes against our criterion of working with relatively short
forecast horizons and avoiding speculative valuations with large continuing values. Forecasting where GE will be in 2030 is not an easy task. But the problem is primarily a conceptual one
as well as a practical one: Free cash flow is not a measure of value added.
How might we deal with the problems of cash flow valuation? The chapter outlined the
principles of accrual accounting that determine earnings (in the income statement) and
book values (in the balance sheet). It showed that accrual accounting measures earnings
in a way that, in principle at least, corrects for deficiencies in free cash flow as a measure
of value added. Under accrual accounting, investments are not deducted from revenues (as
with free cash flow), but rather they are put in the balance sheet as an asset, to be matched
as expenses against revenues at the appropriate time. Additionally, accrual accounting recognizes accruals—noncash value—as part of value added. Accordingly, accrual accounting produces a number, earnings, that measures the value received from customers less the
value given up in winning the revenues, that is, value added in operations.
135
136
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
The Web Connection
Find the following on the Web page supplement for this
chapter:
• Further examples of discounted cash flow valuation.
• Further discussion of the problems with DCF valuation.
• Further demonstration of the difference between cash
and accrual accounting.
• A discussion of the question: Is cash king?
• A discussion of the statement: Cash valuation models
and accrual valuation models must yield the same
valuation.
• The cash flow statement under IFRS.
Analysts forecast earnings rather than cash flows, and—as we now see—for very good
reasons. The next two chapters develop valuation methods based on forecasts of earnings
and book values. That is, they are based on forecasted income statements and balance sheets
rather than forecasted cash flow statements. We will see that these methods typically yield
valuations with less reliance on long-term continuing values. The investor is thus more
assured, for he or she is putting more weight on “what we know” rather than speculation.
There is one further subtle point to be gleaned from this chapter. A valuation model
provides the architecture for valuation. A valuation model specifies what aspect of the firm’s
activities is to be forecasted, and we have concluded that it is the investing and operating
activities. But a valuation model also specifies how those activities are to be measured. This
chapter investigated cash accounting for investing and operating activities, but it also raised
the possibility of using accrual accounting (which we will do in the next two chapters). Here
is the subtle point: A valuation model not only tells you how to think about the value generation in the future, but it also tells you how to account for the value generation. A valuation
model is really a model of pro forma accounting for the future. Should you account for the
future in terms of dividends? Should you account for the future in terms of cash flows? Or
should you use accrual accounting for the future? You see, then, that accounting and valuation are very much alike. Valuation is a matter of accounting for value.
Accordingly one can think of good accounting and bad accounting for valuation. This
chapter has suggested that accrual accounting might be better than cash accounting. But is
accrual accounting as specified by U.S. GAAP (or U.K. accounting, German accounting,
Japanese accounting, or international accounting standards) good accounting for valuation?
We must proceed with a critical eye toward accounting prescribed by regulators.
Key Concepts
accrual is a noncash value flow recorded
in the financial statements. See also
income statement accrual and balance
sheet accrual. 127
annuity the annual amount in a constant
stream of payoffs. 117
continuing value is the value calculated at a
forecast horizon that captures value added
after the horizon. 120
dividend conundrum reters to the following
puzzle: The value of a share is based on
expected dividends but forecasting
dividends (over finite horizons) does not
yield the value of the share. 118
historical cost accounting measures
investments at their cash cost and adjusts
the cost with accruals. 134
matching principle is the accounting
principle that recognizes expenses when
the revenue for which they are incurred
is recognized. 128
perpetuity is a periodic payoff that
continues without end. 117
terminal value is what an investment
is expected to be worth in the future
when it terminates or when it may be
liquidated. 116
Chapter 4 Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
137
The Analyst’s Toolkit
Analysis Tools
Page
Dividend discount model
(equations 4.1 and 4.2)
116
Dividend growth model
(equation 4.4 and Box 4.1) 117
Discounted cash flow model
(equations 4.5, 4.6)
119
Six steps for DCF valuation
121
Simple valuation
(equation 4.9)
123
Cash flow from operations
equation (4.10)
125
Cash investment in operations
equation (4.11)
126
Accounting relations equations
Earnings = (C – i ) +
Accruals (4.12)
130
Earnings = (C – I ) – i
+ I + Accruals (4.13)
130
Key Measures
Page
Accruals
127
After-tax net interest payments 125
Cash flow from operations
119
Cash flow in investing activities 119
Continuing value
120
Discounted cash flow
118
Free cash flow
119
Free cash flow growth rate
120
Levered cash flow from
operations
126
Net debt
119
(Unlevered) cash flow from
operations
126
Value of a perpetuity
117
Value of a perpetuity
with growth
117
Acronyms to Remember
C cash flow from operations
CV continuing value
DCF discounted cash flow
ebitda earnings before interest,
taxes, depreciation, and
amortization
cash flow for investments in
operations
NPV net present value
PPE property, plant, and
equipment
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
A Self-Study Exercise
THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT
You examined Kimberly-Clark’s cash flow statement in the continuing case for
Chapter 2. Now go back to that statement (in Exhibit 2.2) and recalculate “cash provided
by operations” for 2002–2004 on an unlevered basis. The firm’s combined federal and
state tax rate is 35.6%. Also recalculate cash used for investing appropriately to identify
actual investment in operations. Finally, calculate free cash flow for each year. The following, supplied in footnote 17 (Supplemental Data) in the 10-K, will help you with
these calculations:
Year Ended December 31
Other Cash Flow Data
Interest paid
Income taxes paid
Interest Expense
Gross interest cost
Capitalized interest on major construction projects
Interest expense
2004
2003
2002
$175.3
368.7
$178.1
410.4
$183.3
621.4
$169.0
(6.5)
$162.5
$180.3
(12.5)
$167.8
$192.9
(11.0)
$181.9
138
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
Cash Flows and Accruals
Identify the amount of accruals that are reported in the cash flow statement. Then reconcile your calculations of free cash flow for 2002–2004 to net income, following the
accounting relation 4.13. Look at the accrual items in the cash flow statement for 2004
and identify which assets these affect on the balance sheet. Which items on the balance
sheet are affected by the items listed in the investment section of the cash flow
statement?
Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
Suppose you were valuing KMB at the end of 2001 and that you received the free cash
flows that you just calculated as forecasts for 2002–2004. Attempt to value the equity with
a DCF valuation. Identify aspects of the valuation about which you are particularly uncertain. Kimberly-Clark had 521 million shares outstanding at the end of 2001 and had net
debt of $3,798 million.
For these calculations, use a required return for the firm of 8.5%. Kimberly-Clark has a
beta of about 0.8 for its business risk, so its required return is quite low under a CAPM calculation. With the 10-year U.S. treasury note rate of 4.5% at the time and a risk premium of
5%, the CAPM gives you a 8.5% required return for operations. (Confirm that you can
make this calculation.)
Suppose now that you wish to value the equity at the end of 2004, but you have no forecasts for 2005 and onward. Construct a simple model based on capitalizing 2004 cash flows
for doing this. You will have to estimate a growth rate and might do so by reference to the
cash flows or any other data for 2002–2004. Do you think that the 2004 free cash flow is a
good base on which to establish a DCF valuation?
Concept
Questions
C4.1. Investors receive dividends as payoffs for investing in equity shares. Thus the
value of a share should be calculated by discounting expected dividends. True or
false?
C4.2. Some analysts trumpet the saying “Cash is King.” They mean that cash is the
primary fundamental that the equity analyst should focus on. Is cash king?
C4.3. Should a firm that has higher free cash flows have a higher value?
C4.4. After years of negative free cash flow, General Electric reported a positive
free cash flow of $7,386 million in 2003. Look back at GE’s cash flows displayed in Exhibit 4.2. Would you interpret the 2003 free cash flow as good
news?
C4.5. Which of the following two measures gives a better indication of the value added
from selling inventory: (a) cash received from customers minus cash paid for
inventory, or (b) accrual revenue minus cost of goods sold? Why?
C4.6. What explains the difference between cash flow from operations and earnings?
C4.7. What explains the difference between free cash flow and earnings?
C4.8. Why is an investment in a T-bill not an investment in operations?
C4.9. Explain the difference between levered cash flow and unlevered cash flow.
C4.10. Why must the interest component of cash flow or earnings be calculated on an
after-tax basis?
Chapter 4 Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
Exercises
139
Drill Exercises
E4.1.
A Discounted Cash Flow Valuation (Easy)
At the end of 2009, you forecast the following cash flows (in millions) for a firm with net
debt of $759 million:
Cash flow from operations
Cash investment
2010
2011
2012
$1,450
1,020
$1,576
1,124
$1,718
1,200
You forecast that free cash flow will grow at a rate of 4% per year after 2012. Use a required
return of 10% in answering the following questions.
a. Calculate the firm’s enterprise value at the end of 2009.
b. Calculate the value of the equity at the end of 2009.
E4.2.
A Simple DCF Valuation (Easy)
At the end of 2009, you forecast that a firm’s free cash flow for 2010 will be $430 million.
If you forecast that free cash flow will grow at 5% per year thereafter, what is the enterprise
value? Use a required return of 10%.
E4.3.
Valuation with Negative Free Cash Flows (Medium)
At the end of 2008, you forecast the following cash flows for a firm for 2009–2012
(in millions of dollars):
Cash flow from operations
Cash investments
2009
2010
2011
2012
730
673
932
1,023
1,234
1,352
1,592
1,745
What difficulties would you have in valuing this firm based on the forecasted cash flows?
What would explain the decreasing free cash flow over the four years?
E4.4.
Calculate Free Cash Flow from a Cash Flow Statement (Easy)
The following summarizes the parts of a firm’s cash flow statement that have to do with
operating and investing activities (in millions):
Net income
Accruals in net income
Cash flow from operations
Cash in investing activities:
Purchase of property and plant
Purchase of short-term investments
Sale of short-term investments
$2,198
3,072
5,270
$2,203
4,761
(547)
6,417
The firm made interest payments of $1,342 million and received $876 in interest receipts
from T-bills that it held. The tax rate is 35 percent.
Calculate free cash flow.
Applications
E4.5.
Calculating Cash Flow from Operations and Cash Investment
for Coca-Cola (Easy)
The Coca-Cola Company reported “Net cash provided by operating activities” of $7,150
million in its 2007 cash flow statement. It also reported interest paid of $405 million and
interest income of $236 million. Coke has a 36% tax rate. What was the company’s cash
flow from operations for 2007?
140
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
Coca-Cola Company also reported “Net cash used in investing activities” of $6,719 million in its 2007 cash flow statement. As part of this number, it reported “Purchases of
investments” (in interest-bearing securities) of $99 million and “Proceeds from disposal of
investments” of $448 million. What cash did it spend on investments in operations? What
was Coca-Cola’s free cash flow for 2007?
E4.6.
Identifying Accruals for Coca-Cola (Easy)
The Coca-Cola Company reported “Net cash provided by operating activities” of $7,150
million in its 2007 cash flow statement. Coke also reported $5,981 million in net income
for the period. How much of net income was in the form of accruals?
E4.7.
Converting Forecasts of Free Cash Flow to a Valuation:
Coca-Cola Company (Medium)
After reviewing the discounted cash flow valuation of Coca-Cola in Exhibit 4.1, consider
the free cash flows below that were reported by Coke for 2004–2007. They are based on the
actual reported cash flows but are adjusted for interest and investments in interest-bearing
securities (in millions of dollars).
Cash flow from operations
Cash investments
Free cash flow
2004
2005
2006
2007
$5,929
618
5,311
$6,421
1,496
4,925
$5,969
2,258
3,711
$7,258
7,068
190
Pretend that you are sitting at the beginning of 2004, trying to value Coke, given these numbers as forecasts. What difficulties would you encounter in trying to value the firm at the
beginning of 2004? What do you make of the declining free cash flows over the four years?
Real World Connection
Other material on Coca-Cola can be found in Exhibit 4.1 and Minicase M4.1 in this chapter, Minicase M5.2 in Chapter 5, Minicase M6.2 in Chapter 6, and Exercises E11.7, E12.7,
E14.9, E15.12, E16.7, and E19.4.
E4.8.
Cash Flow and Earnings: Kimberly-Clark Corporation (Easy)
Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB) manufactures and markets consumer paper products
under brand names that include Kleenex, Scott, Cottonnelle, Viva, Kotex, and WypAll. For
fiscal year 2004, the firm reported the following numbers (in millions):
Net income (in income statement)
Cash flow from operations (in cash flow statement)
Interest paid (in footnote to cash flow statement)
Interest income (from income statement)
$1,800.2
2,969.6
175.3
17.9
The cash investment section of the 2004 cash statement was reported as follows (in millions):
Investing Activities:
Capital spending
Investments in marketable debt securities
Proceeds from sales of investments in marketable debt securities
Net increase in time deposits
Proceeds from disposition of property
Other operating investments
Cash used for investing activities
$(535.0)
(11.5)
38.0
(22.9)
30.7
5.3
$(495.4)
Chapter 4 Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
141
The firm has a combined federal and state tax rate of 35.6 percent. Calculate:
a. Free cash flow generated in 2004.
b. The accrual component of 2004 net income.
Real World Connection
Follow the Continuing Case for Kimberly-Clark. See also Exercises E6.14, E7.8, E10.10,
and E11.6 and Minicase M5.3.
E4.9.
A Discounted Cash Flow Valuation: General Mills, Inc. (Medium)
At the beginning of its fiscal year 2006, an analyst made the following forecast for General
Mills, Inc., the consumer foods company, for 2006–2009 (in millions of dollars):
Cash flow from operations
Cash investment in operations
2006
2007
2008
2009
$2,014
300
$2,057
380
$2,095
442
$2,107
470
General Mills reported $6,192 million in short-term and long-term debt at the end of 2005
but very little in interest-bearing debt assets. Use a required return of 9% to calculate both
the enterprise value and equity value for General Mills at the beginning of 2006 under two
forecasts for long-run cash flows:
a. Free cash flow will remain at 2009 levels after 2009.
b. Free cash flow will grow at 3 percent per year after 2009.
General Mills had 369 million shares outstanding at the end of 2005, trading at $47 per
share. Calculate value per share and a value-to-price ratio under both scenarios.
Real World Connection
See Exercises E1.5, E2.9, E3.9, E6.8, E10.9, E13.15, E14.8, and E15.10.
E4.10.
Free Cash Flow for General Motors (Medium)
For the first nine months of 2005, General Motors Corporation reported the following in its
cash flow statement. GM runs an automobile operation supported by a financing arm, and
both activities are reflected in these statements.
Condensed Consolidated Statements
of Cash Flows (unaudited)
Nine Months Ended
September 30
2005
Net cash provided by operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Expenditures for property
Investments in marketable securities—acquisitions
Investments in marketable securities—liquidations
Net originations and purchases of mortgage servicing rights
Increase in finance receivables
Proceeds from sales of finance receivables
Operating leases—acquisitions
$ 3,676
(dollars in millions)
$ 12,108
(5,048)
(14,473)
16,091
(1,089)
(4,762)
(9,503)
10,095
(1,151)
(15,843)
27,802
(12,372)
(31,731)
16,811
(10,522)
5,029
1,367
(1,643)
5,831
(85)
808
(179)
$(24,209)
Operating leases—liquidations
Investments in companies, net of cash acquired
Other
Net cash (used in) investing activities
2004
$
142
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
Net interest paid during the 2005 period was $4,059 million, compared with $3,010 million
in the corresponding 2004 period. General Motors’ tax rate is 36%.
An analyst made a calculation of free cash flow from these numbers as follows
(in millions):
Cash flow from operations
Cash flow in investing activities
Free cash flow
2005
2004
$3,676
(179)
$3,497
$ 12,108
(24,209)
$(12,101)
She opened her report to her clients, written the day after GM’s third quarter report was
published, with the words, “GM has dramatically increased its free cash flow. As a result,
we are edging towards upgrading our recommendation from SELL to HOLD.”
Calculate the appropriate free cash flow number for the two nine-month periods. What
mistakes is the analyst making in suggesting that the increase free cash flow is good news?
Real World Connection
See Exercises E2.12 and E5.16.
E4.11.
Cash Flows for Wal-Mart Stores (Easy)
Wal-Mart has been the most successful retailer in history. The panel below reports cash flows
and earnings for the firm from 1988 to 1996 (in millions of dollars, except per-share numbers):
1988 1989
Cash from operations 536
Cash investments
627
Free cash flow
(91)
Net income
628
EPS
0.28
828
541
287
837
0.37
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
968 1,422 1,553
1,540
2,573
894 1,526 2,150
3,506
4,486
74
(104)
(597) (1,966) (1,913)
1,076 1,291 1,608
1,995
2,333
0.48
0.57
0.70
0.87
1.02
1995
1996
3,410 2,993
3,792 3,332
(382)
(339)
2,681 2,740
1.17
1.19
The cash flows are unlevered cash flows.
a. Why would such a profitable firm have such negative free cash flows?
b. What explains the difference between Wal-Mart’s cash flows and earnings?
c. Is this a good firm to apply discounted cash flow analysis to?
E4.12
Accruals and Investments for PepsiCo (Easy)
PepsiCo, the beverage and food conglomerate, reported net income of $4,212 million for
2004 and $5,054 million in (levered) cash flow from operations. How much of the net
income reported was accruals?
PepsiCo reported the following in the investment section of its cash flow statement for
2004:
Capital spending
Sales of property, plant, and equipment
Acquisitions and investments in affiliates
Divestitures
Short-term investments, by maturity:
(1,387)
38
(64)
52
More than three months purchases
More than three months maturities
Three months or less, net
Net cash used for investing activities
(44)
38
(963)
(2,330)
How much did PepsiCo invest in operations during 2004?
Chapter 4 Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
143
Real World Connection
See Minicase M5.2 in Chapter 5, Minicase 6.2 in Chapter 6, and Exercise E9.8 in Chapter 9
for more on PepsiCo.
E4.13.
Accrual Accounting Relations (Medium)
a. A firm reported $405 million in revenue and an increase in net receivables of $32 million. What was the cash generated by the revenues?
b. A firm reported wages expense of $335 million and cash paid for wages of $290 million. What was the change in wages payable for the period?
c. A firm reported net property, plant, and equipment (PPE) of $873 million at the beginning of the year and $923 million at the end of the year. Depreciation on the PPE was
$131 million for the year. There were no disposals of PPE. How much new investment
in PPE was there during the year?
E4.14.
An Examination of Revenues: Microsoft (Medium)
Microsoft Corp. reported $36.835 billion in revenues for fiscal year 2004. Accounts
receivable, net of allowances, increased from $5.196 billion in 2003 to $5.890 billion.
Microsoft has been criticized for underreporting revenue. Revenue from software
licensed to computer manufacturers is not recognized in the income statement until the
manufacturer sells the computers. Other revenues are recognized over contract periods with
customers. As a result, Microsoft reported a liability, unearned revenue, of $6.514 billion
in 2004, down from $7.225 billion in 2003.
What was the cash generated from revenues in 2004?
Real World Connection
See Exercises E1.6, E6.13, E7.7, E8.10, E10.11, E17.10, and E19.4, and Minicases M8.1,
and M12.2 for related material on Microsoft.
144
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
Minicases
M4.1
Discounted Cash Flow Valuation: Coca-Cola
Company and Home Depot Inc.
The Coca-Cola Company and Home Depot have been very profitable companies, typically
trading at high multiples of earnings, book values, and sales. This case asks you to value the
two companies using discounted cash flow analysis, and to appreciate the difficulties
involved. Exhibit 4.1 in the text provide a guide. But also keep in mind the lesson from
Exhibit 4.2.
Coca-Cola, established in the nineteenth century, is a manufacturer and distributor of nonalcoholic beverages, syrups, and juices under recognized brand names. It operates in nearly
200 countries around the world. At the beginning of 1999, Coke traded at $67 per share, with
a P/E of 47, a price-to-book ratio of 19.7, and a price-to-sales ratio of 8.8 on annual sales of
$18.8 billion. With 2,465 million shares outstanding, the market capitalization of the equity
was $165.2 billion, putting it among the top 20 U.S. firms in market capitalization.
Home Depot is a newer company, but it has expanded rapidly, building outlets for home
improvement and gardening products throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and
Argentina. By the end of its fiscal year ending January 1999, Home Depot operated nearly
900 stores as well as a number of design centers, adding stores at a rate of about 250 a year
to become the second biggest retailer in the United States after Wal-Mart. It traded at $83
per share in January 1999, with a P/E ratio 53, a price-to-book ratio of 10.7, and a price-tosales ratio of 4.1 on annual sales of $30.2 billion. With 1,475 million shares outstanding,
the market capitalization of the equity was $122.4 billion, putting it also among the top
20 U.S. firms in market capitalization.
Exhibits 4.6 and 4.7 provide partial statements of cash flow for Coca-Cola and Home
Depot for three years, 1999–2001, along with some additional information (Home Depot’s
fiscal year, like most retailers, ends in January).
Suppose that you were observing these firms’ stock prices at the beginning of 1999 and
were trying to evaluate whether to buy the shares. Suppose, further, that you had the actual
cash flow statements for the next three years (as given in the exhibits), so you knew for sure
what the cash flows were going to be.
A. Calculate free cash flows for the two companies for the three years using the information given in the statements below.
B. Attempt to value the shares of Coca-Cola and Home Depot at the beginning of 1999.
Use a cost of capital of 9 percent for both firms.
As you have only three years of forecasts to deal with, your valuations will be only
approximations. List the problems you run into and discuss the uncertainties you have
about the valuations. For which firm do you feel most insecure in your valuation?
Now skip forward to the beginning of 2004. Below are the free cash flows reported by
Coke for 2004–2007 (in millions of dollars). They are based on the actual reported cash
flows but are adjusted for interest and investments in interest-bearing securities.
Cash flow from operations
Cash investments
Free cash flow
2004
2005
2006
2007
$5,929
618
$5,311
$6,421
1,496
$4,925
$5,969
2,258
$3,711
$7,258
7,068
$ 190
Chapter 4 Cash Accounting, Accrual Accounting, and Discounted Cash Flow Valuation
145
If you used these cash flows for your forecasts, what difficulties would you encounter in
trying to value the Coca-Cola Company at the beginning of 2004? What do you make of the
declining free cash flows over the four years?
Real World Connection
See Minicases M5.2 and M6.2 on Coca-Cola. Exercises E4.5, E4.6, E4.7, E11.7, E12.7,
E14.9, E15.12, E16.7, and E19.4 deal with Coca-Cola, and Exercises E5.12, E9.10,
E11.10, E12.9, and E14.13 deal with Home Depot.
EXHIBIT 4.6
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
Operating and
Investing Cash Flows
as Reported for the
Coca-Cola Company,
1999–2001.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in millions)
Year Ended December 31,
Operating Activities
Net income
Depreciation and amortization
Deferred income taxes
Equity income or loss, net of dividends
Foreign currency adjustments
Gains on issuances of stock by equity investees
Gains on sales of assets, including bottling interests
Other operating charges
Other items
Net change in operating assets and liabilities
Net cash provided by operating activities
Investing Activities
Acquisitions and investments, principally trademarks
and bottling companies
Purchases of investments and other assets
Proceeds from disposals of investments and other assets
Purchases of property, plant, and equipment
Proceeds from disposals of property, plant, and equipment
Other investing activities
Net cash used in investing activities
2001
2000
1999
$3,969
803
56
(54)
(60)
(91)
(85)
—
34
(462)
$2,177
773
3
380
196
—
(127)
916
119
(852)
$2,431
792
97
292
(41)
—
(49)
799
119
(557)
4,110
3,585
3,883
(651)
(456)
455
(769)
91
142
(397)
(508)
290
(733)
45
138
(1,876)
(518)
176
(1,069)
45
(179)
(1,188)
(1,165)
(3,421)
304
325
458
345
199
260
Other information:
Interest paid
Interest income
Borrowings at the end of 1998:
Investment in debt securities at the
end of 1998:
$4,990 million
$3,563 million
Statutory tax rate:
36%
146
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
EXHIBIT 4.7
Operating and
Investing Cash Flows
as Reported by Home
Depot, Inc.,
2000–2002.
HOME DEPOT INC.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(amounts in millions)
Fiscal Year Ended
February 3,
2002
Cash Flows from Operations:
Net earnings
January 28,
2001
January 30,
2000
$3,044
$2,581
$2,320
Reconciliation of net earnings to net cash provided by
operations
Depreciation and amortization
Increase in receivables, net
764
(119)
601
(46)
463
(85)
Increase in merchandise inventories
Increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities
Increase in income taxes payable
Other
(166)
2,078
272
90
(1,075)
754
151
30
(1,142)
820
93
(23)
Net cash provided by operations
5,963
2,996
2,446
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:
Capital expenditures, net of $5, $16, and $37 of noncash
capital expenditures in fiscal 2002, 2001, and 2000,
respectively
Payments for business acquired, net
Proceeds from sale of business, net
Proceeds from sales of property and equipment
Purchases of investments
Proceeds from sale of investments
Other
(3,393)
(190)
64
126
(85)
25
(13)
(3,558)
(26)
—
95
(39)
30
(32)
(2,581)
(101)
—
87
(32)
30
(25)
Net cash used in investing activities
(3,466)
(3,530)
(2,622)
18
53
$1,580 million
16
47
26
37
Other information:
Interest paid, net of interest capitalized
Interest income
Borrowings at the end of fiscal 1999:
Investment in debt securities at the
end of fiscal 1999:
Statutory tax rate:
$81 million
39%
Chapter Five
LINKS
Link to previous chapters
Chapter 4 showed how
accrual accounting modifies
cash accounting to produce
a balance sheet that reports
shareholders' equity.
However, Chapter 2
also explained that the
book value in the
balance sheet does not
measure the value of
shareholders' equity,
so firms typically trade
at price-to-book ratios
different from 1.0.
Accrual Accounting
and Valuation:
Pricing Book Values
This chapter
This chapter shows how to
estimate the value omitted
from the balance sheet and
thus how to estimate
intrinsic price-to-book
ratios.
How are
premiums
over book
value
determined?
How is a firm
valued by
forecasting
income
statements
and balance
sheets?
How are
strategies
evaluated?
How does
the analyst
infer the
market's
forecast
of
future earnings?
Link to next chapter
Chapter 6 complements
this chapter. While
Chapter 5 shows how to
price the book value of
equity, the "bottom line"
of the balance sheet,
Chapter 6 shows how to
price earnings, the
"bottom line" of the
income statement.
Link to Web page
Go to the Web page
supplement for more
applications of the
techniques in this chapter.
Firms typically trade at a price that differs from book value. Chapter 2 explained why:
While some assets and liabilities are marked to market in the balance sheet, others are
recorded at historical cost, and yet others are excluded from the balance sheet. Consequently, the analyst is left with the task of estimating the value that is omitted from the
balance sheet. The analyst observes the book value of shareholders’ equity and then asks
how much value must be added to mark the book value to intrinsic value: What is the premium over book value at which a share should trade? Chapter 3 showed that asset-based
valuation methods typically do not work. How, then, does the analyst proceed?
This chapter lays out a valuation model for calculating the premium and intrinsic value.
It also models strategy analysis as well as providing directions for analyzing firms to
discover the sources of value creation. And, for the active investor, it provides tools to
challenge the market price.
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
149
The Analyst’s Checklist
After reading this chapter you should understand:
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
• What “residual earnings” is.
• Calculate residual earnings.
• How forecasting residual earnings gives the premium
over book value and the P/B ratio.
• Calculate the value of equities and strategies from
forecasts of earnings and book value.
• How residual earnings are driven by return on common
equity (ROCE) and growth in book value.
• Calculate an intrinsic price-to-book ratio.
• The difference between a Case 1, 2, and 3 valuation.
• Calculate continuing values.
• How the residual earnings model captures value added
in a strategy.
• Calculate target prices.
• The advantages and disadvantages of using the residual earnings model and how it contrasts to dividend
discounting and discounted cash flow analysis.
• Calculate an implied growth rate in residual earnings
from the market price of a stock.
• How residual earnings valuation protects the investor
from paying too much for earnings added by investment.
• How residual earnings valuation protects the investor
from paying for earnings that are created by accounting methods.
• Calculate value added in a strategy.
• Convert an analyst’s earnings forecast into a valuation.
• Break down a valuation into its building blocks.
• Reverse engineer the residual earnings model to infer
the market’s earnings forecasts.
• Identify the speculative component of a valuation.
• Apply tools to challenge the market price.
• How residual earnings valuation follows the dictum of
separating “what we know” from speculation.
• How the residual earnings model is applied in reverse
engineering.
• How the residual earnings model can be used to understand the market’s earnings expectations.
THE CONCEPT BEHIND THE PRICE-TO-BOOK RATIO
Book value represents shareholders’ investment in the firm. Book value is also assets minus
liabilities, that is, net assets. But, as Chapter 2 explained, book value typically does not
measure the value of the shareholders’ investment. The value of the shareholders’
investment—and the value of the net assets—is based on how much the investment (net assets) is expected to earn in the future. Therein lies the concept of the P/B ratio: Book value
is worth more or less, depending upon the future earnings that the net assets are likely to
generate. Accordingly, the intrinsic P/B ratio is determined by the expected return on book
value.
This concept fits with our idea that shareholders buy earnings. Price, in the numerator of
the P/B ratio, is based on the expected future earnings that investors are buying. So, the
higher the expected earnings relative to book value, the higher the P/B ratio. The rate of
return on book value—sometimes referred to as the profitability—is thus a measure that
features strongly in the determination of P/B ratios.
This chapter supplies the formal valuation model to implement this concept of the P/B
ratio, as well as the mechanics to apply the model faithfully. The formality is important, for
formality forces one to be careful. In evaluating P/B ratios, one must proceed formally
because one can pay too much for earnings if one is not careful.
150
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
Beware of Paying Too Much for Earnings
A basic precept of investing is that investments add value only if they earn above their
required return. Firms may invest heavily—in an acquisition spree, for example—but that
investment, while producing more earnings, adds value only if it delivers earnings above
the required return on the investment. If a firm pays fair value for an acquisition or other
investments, it may earn only the required return, and thus not add value. Indeed, a firm can
increase earnings through investments even if those investments yield less than the required
return (and thus lose value). This maxim refines the P/B concept: The P/B ratio prices
expected return on book value, but it does not price a return that is equal to the required
return on book value.
The analysis in this chapter is designed to prevent you from making the mistake of paying too much for earnings. As you apply the model and methods in this chapter, you will
see that P/B ratios increase only if earnings yield a return that is greater than the required
return on book value. Indeed, with the tools in this chapter, you can assess whether the
market is overpaying (or underpaying) for earnings and so detect cases where the P/B ratio
is too high or too low. You will be able to identify the speculative component of the market
price that you can challenge to make this assessment.
PROTOTYPE VALUATIONS
Fundamental analysis anchors valuation in the financial statements. Book value provides an
anchor. The investor anchors his valuation with the value that is recognized in the balance
sheet—the book value—and then proceeds to assess value that is not recognized—the premium over book value:
Value = Book value + Premium
Two prototypes introduce you to the methods.
Valuing a Project
Suppose a firm invested $400 in a project that is expected to generate revenue of $440 a
year later. Think of it as buying inventory and selling it a year later. After subtracting the
$400 cost of the inventory from the revenue, earnings are expected to be $40, yielding a
rate of return of 10 percent on the investment. The required rate of return for the project is
10 percent. Following historical cost accounting, the asset (inventory) would be recorded
on the balance sheet at $400. How much value does this project add to the book value? The
answer, of course, is zero because the asset is expected to earn a rate of return equal to its
cost of capital. And the project would be worth its book value.
A measure that captures the value added to book value is residual earnings or residual
income. For the one period for this project (where the investment is at time 0),
Residual earnings1 = Earnings1 – (Required return × Investment0)
For earnings of $40, residual earnings is calculated as
Residual earnings = $40 – (0.10 × $400) = $0
If the project were to generate revenues of $448 and so earn $48, a rate of return of 12 percent
on the investment of $400, residual earnings would be calculated as
Residual earnings = $48 – (0.10 × $400) = $8
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
151
The required dollar earnings for this project is 0.10 × $400 = $40. Residual earnings is
the earnings in excess of these required dollar earnings. If the project earns $40, residual
earnings is zero; if the project earns $48, residual earnings is $8. Residual earnings is
sometimes referred to as abnormal earnings or excess profit.
A model that measures value added from forecasts of residual earnings is called the
residual earnings model:
Value = Book value + Present value of expected residual earnings
The one-period project with an expected rate of return of 10 percent earns a residual earnings of zero. So the value of the project is
Value = $400 +
$0
= $400
1.10
This project is worth its historical cost recorded on the balance sheet; there is no value
added. If the project were expected to earn at a 12 percent rate, that is, earn residual
earnings of $8,
Value = $400 +
$8
= $407.27
1.10
In this case the project is worth more than its historical-cost book value because it is anticipated
to generate positive residual earnings; there is value added, a premium overbook value.
The residual earnings value for a terminal project is always the same as that calculated with
discounted cash flow methods. For the project yielding $448 in sales, the DCF valuation is:
Value (DCF) =
$448
= $407.27
1.10
Valuing a Savings Account
How much is a simple savings account worth? Well, surely it is worth its book value—the
balance on the bank statement—because that is the amount you would get out of the account if you cashed it in. The book value is the liquidation value. But it is also the goingconcern value of the account.
Exhibit 5.1 lays out forecasts of book values, earnings, dividends (withdrawals), and
free cash flows for 2009–2013 for a $100 investment in a savings account at the end of
2008, under two scenarios. In the first scenario, earnings are paid out each year so that book
value does not change. The required return for this savings account is 5 percent—that is,
the opportunity cost of the rate available at another bank across the street in an account with
the same risk. So, forecasted residual earnings for each year is $5 − (0.05 × $100) = $0. As
this asset is expected to yield no residual earnings, its value is equal to its book value, $100.
In the second scenario in Exhibit 5.1, no withdrawals are taken from the account. As a
result, both earnings and book values grow as earnings are reinvested in the book values
to earn within the account (numbers are rounded to two decimal places). But residual earnings is still zero for each year. For 2009, residual earnings is $5 – (0.05 × $100) = $0; for
2010, residual earnings is $5.25 – (0.05 × $105) = $0; for 2011, residual earnings is
$5.5125 – (0.05 × $110.25) = $0, and so on. In all years, the rate of return on book value is
equal to the required return. As expected residual earnings are zero, the value of this asset
at the end of 2008 is its book value, $100.
Note that in Scenario 1, forecasted dividends and free cash flows are $5 each year. In
Scenario 2, where cash is reinvested in the account, forecasted dividends and free cash
flows are zero. Yet the two scenarios have the same value.
152
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
EXHIBIT 5.1
Forecasts for a
Savings Account with
$100 Invested at the
End of 2008, Earning
5% per Year.
Forecast Year
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Scenario 1: Earnings withdrawn each year (full payout)
Earnings
Dividends
Book value
$100
Residual earnings
Free cash flows
$ 5
5
100
$ 5
5
100
$ 5
5
100
$ 5
5
100
0
5
0
5
0
5
0
5
$ 5.25
0
110.25
$ 5.51
0
115.76
$ 5.79
0
121.55
0
0
0
0
0
0
$
5
5
100
0
5
Scenario 2: No withdrawals (zero payout)
Earnings
Dividends
Book value
Residual earnings
Free cash flows
$100
$ 5
0
105
0
0
$
6.08
0
127.63
0
0
These examples from the savings account bring out some important principles that also
apply to the valuation of equities:
1. An asset is worth a premium or discount to its book value only if the book value is
expected to earn nonzero residual earnings.
2. Residual earnings techniques recognize that earnings growth does not add value if that
growth comes from investments earning the required return. In the second scenario,
there is more earnings growth than in the first scenario, but that growth comes from
reinvesting earnings in book values to earn at the required return of 5 percent. After
charging earnings for the required return on the investment, there is no addition to residual earnings, even though there is growth in earnings. Accordingly, the value of the asset
is the same for the case with no earnings growth.
3. Even though an asset does not pay dividends, it can be valued from its book value and
earnings forecasts. Forecasting zero dividends in the second scenario will not work, but
we have been able to value it from earnings and book values.
4. The valuation of the savings account does not depend on dividend payout. The two
scenarios have different expected dividends, but the same value: The valuation based on
book values and earnings is insensitive to payout. This is desirable if, indeed, dividends
are irrelevant to value, as discussed in Chapter 3.
5. The valuation of the savings account is unrelated to free cash flows. The two scenarios
have different free cash flows but the same value. Even though the account for
Scenario 2 cannot be valued by forecasting free cash flows over five years—they are
zero—it can be valued from its book value.
The Normal Price-to-Book Ratio
The value of the savings account is equal to its book value. That is, the price-to-book ratio
is equal to 1.0. A P/B ratio of 1.0 is an important benchmark case, for it is the case where
the balance sheet provides the complete valuation. It is also the case where the forecasted
return on book value is equal to the required rate of return, and forecasted residual earnings
is zero—as with both the savings account and the project earning a 10 percent return.
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
153
The required return is sometimes referred to as the normal return for the level of risk in
the investment. Accordingly, as an investment with a P/B of 1.0 earns a normal return, a
P/B of 1.0 is sometimes referred to as a normal P/B ratio.
A MODEL FOR ANCHORING VALUE ON BOOK VALUE
The prototypes show us how to value assets by anchoring on their book value and then
adding extra value by forecasting future residual earnings. The anchoring principle is
clear:
Anchoring principle: If one forecasts that an asset will earn a return on its book value equal
to its required return, it must be worth its book value.
Correspondingly, if one forecasts that an asset will earn a return on book value greater than
its required return—positive residual earnings—it must be worth more than book value;
there is extra value to be added. The valuation model that captures the extra value for the
equity for a going-concern is
Value of common equity (V0E ) = B0 +
RE1
E
+
RE 2
2
E
+
RE 3
3
E
+L
(5.1)
where RE is residual earnings for equity:
Residual earnings = Comprehensive earnings – (Required return for equity
× Beginning-of-period book value)
REt = Earnt – (ρE – 1)Bt–1
B0 is the current book value of equity on the balance sheet, and the residual earnings for
each period in the future is the comprehensive earnings available to common equity for the
period less a charge against the earnings for the book value of common equity at the
beginning of the period, Bt–1, earning at the required return, ρE – 1. This required return for
equity is also called the equity cost of capital.
We saw in Chapter 2 that Dell, Inc., reported $2,988 million of comprehensive income
in 2008 on book value (assets minus liabilities) at the beginning of the year of $4,328 million. If Dell’s shareholders require a 10 percent return, then its 2002 residual earnings was
$2,988 – (0.10 × 4,328) = $2,555.2 million. Dell added $2,555.2 million in earnings over a
10 percent return on the shareholders’ investment in book value.
We calculate the value of equity by adding the present value of forecasted residual earnings to the current book value in the balance sheet. The forecasted residual earnings are discounted to present value at 1 plus the equity cost of capital, ρE. We calculate the intrinsic
premium over book value, V0E – B0, as the present value of forecasted residual income. This
premium is the missing value in the balance sheet. The intrinsic price-to-book ratio is
V E0 /B0. This makes sense: If we expect a firm to earn income for shareholders over that required on the book value of equity (a positive RE), its equity will be worth more than its
book value and should sell at a premium. And the higher the earnings relative to book
value, the higher will be the premium.
Table 5.1 shows that premiums (or P/B ratios) forecast subsequent residual earnings. This
table groups all NYSE and AMEX firms into one of 20 groups based on their P/B ratio. The
first group (Level 1) includes the firms with the highest 5 percent of P/B ratios, while the
154
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
TABLE 5.1
Residual Earnings Each Year after P/B Groups Are Formed (Year 0)
Price-to-Book Ratios
and Subsequent
Residual Earnings,
1965–1995.
High-P/B firms yield
high residual earnings,
on average, and
low-P/B firms yield
low residual earnings.
Residual earnings for
P/B ratios close to 1.0
(in Levels 14 and 15)
are close to zero.
Source: Company: Standard &
Poor’s Compustat® data.
P/B Level
P/B
0
1
2
3
4
5
1 (high)
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 (low)
6.68
3.98
3.10
2.59
2.26
2.01
1.81
1.65
1.51
1.39
1.30
1.21
1.12
1.05
0.97
0.89
0.80
0.70
0.58
0.42
0.181
0.134
0.109
0.090
0.076
0.066
0.057
0.042
0.043
0.031
0.024
0.026
0.016
0.009
0.006
−0.007
−0.017
−0.031
−0.052
−0.090
0.230
0.155
0.113
0.089
0.077
0.067
0.048
0.039
0.034
0.031
0.026
0.028
0.021
0.008
0.005
−0.011
−0.018
0.030
−0.054
−0.075
0.223
0.144
0.106
0.077
0.069
0.059
0.043
0.029
0.031
0.028
0.023
0.023
0.012
0.009
0.011
−0.004
−0.004
−0.030
−0.039
−0.066
0.221
0.154
0.101
0.093
0.068
0.057
0.052
0.039
0.038
0.036
0.035
0.036
0.031
0.026
0.018
0.008
0.006
−0.010
−0.015
−0.037
0.226
0.154
0.120
0.100
0.079
0.076
0.052
0.050
0.046
0.047
0.036
0.039
0.039
0.034
0.031
0.029
0.023
0.015
−0.003
−0.020
0.236
0.139
0.096
0.099
0.071
0.073
0.057
0.044
0.031
0.028
0.030
0.038
0.026
0.032
0.017
0.015
0.008
−0.001
−0.008
−0.039
bottom group (Level 20) includes those with the lowest 5 percent. The median P/B for Level 1
is 6.68, while that for Level 20 is 0.42, as indicated in the P/B column of the table. The table
gives the median RE for each level for the year that firms are grouped (Year 0) and for the
subsequent five years. The RE is standardized by book value in Year 0. You can see that the
RE entries in Years 1 to 5 are related to the P/B ratios in Year 0: High-P/B firms pay high RE,
on average, while low-P/B firms pay low RE. Levels 14 and 15 have P/B close to 1.0 in Year 0
(a zero premium) and, correspondingly, their RE payoffs are close to zero. Price-to-book
ratios higher than 1.0 yield positive RE and low P/B ratios yield negative RE. In short, the
data for actual firms behave just as the model says.1
The forecasting to infinity that is required for the going-concern model (5.1) is a challenge. The criteria for a practical valuation technique presented in Chapter 3 require finite
forecast horizons. If, as we forecasted further into the future, the present values of the RE
were to become very small, we could stop forecasting RE at some point. But if not, a
finite-horizon forecasting model would be needed for going concerns. For the mathematically inclined, Box 5.1 formally develops a model for forecasts over finite horizons and
shows that it captures the returns to investing in stocks. For a forecast over a T-period
horizon,
V = B0 +
E
0
RE1
E
1
+
RE 2
2
E
+
RE 3
3
E
+L+
RET
T
E
+
VTE − BT
T
E
(5.2)
The same required return for equity of 10 percent is used for all firms in the table. But using a CAPM
cost of capital (and thus adjusting firms’ required returns for their betas) gives similar patterns.
Deriving the Residual Earnings Model
from the Dividend Discount Model
We saw in Chapter 3 that value is determined by discounting
expected payoffs to present value. For an equity investment,
the payoffs are the stream of dividends plus the price at which
the investment is liquidated. The dividend discount model in
Chapter 4 applies this notion quite literally:
5.1
d1 = Earn1 – (B1 – B0), by the stocks and flows accounting
relation. So, substituting for dividends in the payoff,
P0 =
Earn1 − (B1 − B0 ) + P1
E
Value of equity = Present value of expected dividends to
time T + Present value of expected
terminal value at T
d
d
d
d
P
V 0E = 1 + 22 + 33 + L + TT + TT
ρE
ρE
ρE
ρE
ρE
We saw, however, that this model is not very practical. The
residual earnings model is a practical model that preserves the
concept that value is based on expected dividends (including
the liquidating price). How do we get from the dividend discounting to the residual earnings model?
Payoffs come over many periods but, to start simply, let’s
deal first with the one-period payoff to equity. The efficient
equity price is the present value of the payoff that comes in
the form of a dividend and a terminal price. So P0 = (d1 + P1)/ρE,
where P0 is the current price, P1 is the price one year ahead,
d1 is the dividend payoff one year ahead, and ρE is 1 plus the
required rate of return on equity. The expected dividend
component of the payoff is equal to forecasted comprehensive earnings minus the forecast change in book value:
B + Earn1 P1 − B1
= 0
+
E
= B0 +
E
Earn1 − (
E
− 1)B0
+
P1 − B1
E
E
The amount forecasted in the second term, Earn1 − (ρE − 1)B0,
is the residual earnings for equity for the coming year.
The model says that we get the efficient price by forecasting
next year’s residual income and the premium at the end of the
year, taking their present value, and adding the current book
value in the balance sheet. We can extend the formula to
longer forecast horizons by substituting comprehensive earnings and book values for dividends in each future period. For a
forecast for T periods,
P0 = B0 +
RE1
E
+
RE2
2
E
+
RE3
3
E
+L+
RET
T
E
+
PT − B T
T
E
Efficient prices are equal to intrinsic values, so we can express
the model with intrinsic values rather than efficient prices. See
model 5.2 in the text.
where VTE – BT is the forecast of the intrinsic premium at the forecast horizon. So this model
says that for forecasting 1, 2, 5, or 10 years ahead, we need three things (in addition to the
equity cost of capital) to value the equity:
1. The current book value.
2. Forecasts of residual earnings to a chosen forecast horizon.
3. The forecasted premium at the horizon.
The equity cost of capital is given by a beta technology such as the capital asset pricing
model (CAPM). Combining these three components of the value with the cost of capital
according to the residual earnings formula accomplishes Step 4 of the fundamental
analysis. Current book value is of course in the current balance sheet, leaving us with the
task of forecasting residual earnings and the horizon premium. We also need to choose a
forecast horizon. The horizon premium—the stock’s expected value relative to book
value T periods from now—appears to be a particular challenge. Indeed, the model appears circular: To determine the current premium, we need to calculate a premium expected in the future. The calculation of this premium is the problem of a continuing
value at the horizon. The section in this chapter titled Applying the Model to Equities
deals with this problem.
155
156
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
The residual earnings model always yields the same value that we would get from
forecasting dividends over an infinite forecasting horizon. This is important to appreciate,
so that you can feel secure about the valuation, because share value is based on the dividends that the share is ultimately expected to pay. Box 5.1 derives the residual earnings
model merely by substituting earnings and book values for dividends. That substitution
means that we are really forecasting dividends; however, we get an appreciation of the
ultimate dividends that a firm will pay using forecasts of earnings and book values over
forecast horizons that are typically shorter than those required for dividend discounting
methods. The savings account example makes this abundantly clear. In a zero-payout
case where dividends might not be paid out for 50 years (say), we would have to forecast
dividends very far into the future. But using a residual earnings method, the valuation is
immediate—it is given by the current book value.
Residual Earnings Drivers and Value Creation
Residual earnings is the return on common equity, expressed as a dollar excess return
rather than a ratio. For every earnings period t, we can restate residual earnings as
Residual earnings = (ROCE − Required return on equity)
× Book value of common equity
(5.3)
Earn t − (ρ E − 1) Bt −1 = [ROCE t − (ρ E − 1)]Bt −1
(1)
(2)
where ROCEt = Earnt/Bt –1 is the rate of return on common equity. Box 5.2 takes you
through the calculation of ROCE. Thus residual earnings compares ROCE to the required
return, ρE – 1, and expresses the difference as a dollar amount by multiplying it by the
beginning-of-period book value. Dell’s (comprehensive) ROCE for 2008 was 69.04 percent (from Box 5.2). If its required return on equity (the equity cost of capital) was 10 percent, then its residual earnings was (0.6904 – 0.10) × $4,328 = $2,555.2 million, which is
the same number as we got before (adjusted for rounding error). If ROCE equals the
required return, RE will be zero. If we forecast that the firm will earn an ROCE equal to
its cost of capital indefinitely in the future, intrinsic price will be equal to book value. If
we forecast that ROCE will be greater than the cost of capital, the equity should sell at a
premium. If we forecast that ROCE will be less than the cost of capital, the equity should
sell at a discount.
RE is determined by two components, (1) and (2) in expression 5.3. The first is ROCE
and the second is the amount of the book value of the equity investment (assets minus
liabilities, or net assets) that are put in place in each period. These two components are
called residual earnings drivers. Firms increase their value over book value by increasing
their ROCE above the cost of capital. But they further increase their value by growth in
book value (net assets) that will earn at this ROCE. For a given ROCE (greater than the
cost of capital), a firm will add more value with more investments earning at that ROCE.
Indeed these two drivers are sometimes referred to as value drivers. Determining the
premium or discount at which a share should sell involves forecasting these two drivers.
Figure 5.1 depicts how forecasts of the two drivers, along with the current book value, yield
current value. Much of our analysis to uncover the value in a firm will involve uncovering
the features of the business that determine these drivers. You also see how this model can
be a strategy analysis tool: Increase value by adopting strategies that increase ROCE above
the required return and grow book values (net assets) that can earn at an ROCE above the
required return.
Return on Common Shareholders’ Equity
Return on common equity, ROCE, is comprehensive earnings
to common earned during a period relative to the book value
of net assets put in place at the beginning of the period. For
period 1,
ROCE1 =
Comprehensive earnings to common1
Book value0
Comprehensive earnings to common are after preferred dividends and the book value is (of course) the book value of common shareholders’ equity. Sometimes this measure is referred
to as return on equity (ROE), but we will use ROCE to be clear
that it is the return to common shareholders whose shares we
are pricing. The ROCE is also referred to as a book rate of return or an accounting rate of return to distinguish it from the
rate of return earned in the market from holding the shares.
Comprehensive income for Dell, Inc., for 2008 was $2,988
million, and the book value of common shareholders’ equity at
the beginning of the year was $4,328 million. So Dell’s ROCE
for 2008 was $2,988/$4,328 = 69.04%. This is very high. But
of course, most of Dell’s assets—customer relationship, brand,
supply chain—are not on its balance sheet, but the earnings from
those assets are coming through comprehensive income. The
high ROCE explains why Dell traded at such a high P/B of 11.0.
Earnings are earned throughout the period and will
change with changes in book values through share issues,
stock repurchases, or dividends. But book value is measured at
a point in time. For short periods, like a fiscal quarter, this does
5.2
not matter much. But for longer periods, like a full fiscal year,
it might. So ROCE for a year is often calculated as
ROCE1 ≡
Comprehensive earnings1
1 (B + B )
0
2 1
The denominator is the average of beginning and ending
book value for the year. This calculation is approximate. More
strictly, the denominator should be a weighted average of
book values during the year. Significant errors will occur only
if there are large share issues or stock repurchases near the
beginning or end of a year.
The calculation can be done on a per-share basis:
ROCE1 ≡
EPS1
BPS0
(with EPS based on comprehensive income). BPS is book value
of common equity divided by shares outstanding (and shares
outstanding is issued shares minus shares in treasury). The EPS
are weighted down for share issues and repurchases during
the year by the weighted-average calculation. So this calculation keeps the numerator and denominator on the same pershare basis.
The three calculations typically give different answers but
the difference is usually small. It is, however, dangerous to
compare ROCE over time with calculations based on pershare amounts because share issues and repurchases affect
EPS and BPS differently. See Chapter 13.
Below are selected firms ranked by their P/B ratios at the end of their 2003 fiscal years,
along with the ROCE they earned in 2004 and their book value growth rates for 2004.
The Gap, Inc.
General Electric Co.
Verizon Communications, Inc.
Citigroup, Inc.
Home Depot, Inc.
General Motors Corp.
Federated Department Stores
P/B in 2003
ROCE in 2004
Growth Rate for
Book Value in 2004
4.23
4.16
3.32
2.79
2.62
1.19
0.92
28.1%
22.3%
23.4%
17.4%
19.2%
11.1%
12.0%
30.7%
39.3%
12.2%
11.5%
13.2%
9.7%
3.1%
You can see that P/B is related to subsequent ROCE and growth in book value. General
Motors and Federated Department Stores have a P/B close to 1.0 and correspondingly earned
an ROCE of 11–12 percent, roughly considered typical for a required return on equity. The
2004 residual earnings for these firms were roughly zero, appropriate for a normal P/B ratio
157
158
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
FIGURE 5.1 The Drivers of Residual Earnings and the Calculation of the Value of Equity
Residual earnings is driven by return on common equity (ROCE) and the book value of investments put in place. Valuation
involves forecasting future ROCE and the growth in the book values of net assets, discounting the residual income that they
produce to present value, and adding the current book value.
Current data
Current year
Forecasts
Year 1 ahead
ROCE1
Current
book value
Current
book value
PV of RE2
PV of RE3
Current value
ROCE2
Book value1
Year 3 ahead
ROCE3
Book value2
Current
book value
Residual
earnings1
PV of RE1
Year 2 ahead
Residual
earnings2
Residual
earnings3
Discount by
Discount by
2
Discount by
3
of 1.0. The other firms have considerably higher P/B and, correspondingly, higher ROCE and
growth rate in book value. Notice also that, while some firms had a lower ROCE than another
firm with a higher P/B on the list, the former had higher growth in book value to compensate.
Compare General Electric and Verizon, for example.
A few firms do not give the full story, of course, so look at Figure 5.2. This figure plots
2002 ROCE for the S&P 500 firms on their P/B at the end of 2001. The regression line
through the plots shows that P/B forecasts subsequent ROCE. The plot is typical of most
years. Of course, many firms do not fall on the regression line and it is the task of financial
analysis to explain why. Is it growth in book value, the second driver?
For a historical picture of ROCE and book value growth, Figure 5.3 plots percentiles of
ROCE over the years 1963–2003 for the S&P 500 firms. The median ROCE over all years is
13.7 percent, but there is considerable variation. Accordingly, there has been considerable
variation in P/B ratios, as indicated in Figure 2.2 in Chapter 2. The median ROCE for all
NYSE and AMEX listed stocks since 1963 was 12.5 percent. The average ROCE for the S&P
500 over the 30 years to 2009 (based on a market-value weighting of stocks in the index) has
been 18 percent.
A Simple Demonstration and a Simple Valuation Model
Exhibit 5.2 presents forecasts of comprehensive earnings and dividends over five years for a
firm with $100 million in book value at the end of the current year, Year 0. The required equity
return is 10 percent and we must value the equity at time 0.
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
FIGURE 5.2
ROCE on P/B Ratio
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
ROCE (2002)
Price-to-Book Ratios
for S&P 500 Firms
and Subsequent
Return on Common
Equity (ROCE).
The figure plots ROCE
in 2002 on price-tobook ratios (P/B) at the
end of 2001. The line
through the dots is the
regression line for the
relationship between
ROCE and P/B: ROCE
is positively related to
P/B.
159
0.4
0.2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
–0.2
–0.4
–0.6
Source: Standard & Poor’s
COMPUSTAT® data.
Price-to-book ratio (2001)
Future book values are forecasted using the stocks and flows equation of Chapter 2:
Ending book value = Beginning book value + Comprehensive income – Net dividend
No share issues or repurchases are expected for this firm, so the dividend forecasted equals
the net dividend. The expected book value at the end of Year 1, in millions, is $103 = $100 +
12.36 – 9.36, and so for subsequent years. Residual earnings for Year 1 is $12.36 – (0.10 ×
100) = $2.36 million, and so for subsequent years. You can see that forecasted residual
earnings is growing at a 3 percent rate per year after Year 1, so a simple valuation capitalizes
the residual earnings forecasted for Year 1 as a perpetuity with growth:
V0E = B0 +
FIGURE 5.3
p10
p25
Median
p75
p90
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0.1
2003
2001
1999
1997
1995
1993
1991
1989
1987
1985
1983
1981
1979
1977
1975
1973
1971
1969
1967
1965
0.2
1963
Source: Standard & Poor’s
COMPUSTAT® data.
0.5
ROCE (S&P 500)
Percentiles of ROCE
for S&P 500 Firms,
1963–2003.
The median ROCE
over all years is
13.7 percent.
RE1
ρE − g
160
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
EXHIBIT 5.2
Forecasts for a
Simple Firm
In millions of dollars.
Required return is
10%.
Forecast Year
Earnings
Dividends
Book value
RE (10% charge)
RE growth rate
0
1
2
3
4
5
12.00
9.09
100.00
12.36
9.36
103.00
2.36
12.73
9.64
106.09
2.43
3%
13.11
9.93
109.27
2.50
3%
13.51
10.23
112.55
2.58
3%
13.91
10.53
115.93
2.66
3%
With g = 1.03 and ρE = 1.10, the valuation is
$2.36
V0E = $100 +
= $133.71 million
1.10 − 1.03
The intrinsic price-to-book ratio (P/B) is $133.71/$100 = 1.34. This is a simple valuation
model of the type introduced in Chapter 4: Growth at a constant rate begins after the forward
year. The forecast horizon is very short, just one year ahead.
The RE model gives the same valuation that would result from forecasting dividends indefinitely into the future. That is, if we think of equity value as based on the dividends that a
firm is ultimately expected to pay (in the very long run), the RE model gives us this value.
Indeed, the example has been constructed to demonstrate this point. Dividends are expected
to grow at 3 percent per year in this example, so
V 0E =
d1
9.36
=
= 133.71 million
− g 1.10 − 1.03
E
This is a stylized case in which the dividend discount model works because the payout is
tied directly to earnings with a fixed payout ratio, and growth in dividends is the same as
growth in residual earnings. As we saw in Chapter 4, this is not usually the case, as the savings account with zero payout makes abundantly clear. However, the accrual accounting
model supplies an answer.
APPLYING THE MODEL TO EQUITIES
Here are the steps to follow for a residual earnings valuation:
1. Identify the book value in the most recent balance sheet.
2. Forecast earnings and dividends up to a forecast horizon.
3. Forecast future book values from current book values and your forecasts of earnings and
dividends.
4. Calculate future residual earnings from the forecasts of earnings and book values.
5. Discount the residual earnings to present value.
6. Calculate a continuing value at the forecast horizon.
7. Discount the continuing value to present value.
8. Add 1, 5, and 7.
Residual earnings can be calculated by the method in equation 5.3, and Figure 5.1 depicts
the process with that calculation.
Case 1 applies these steps to Flanigan’s Enterprises, Inc., a firm operating chain restaurants and beverage stores. The first two lines give the firm’s basic earnings per share (EPS)
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
161
and dividends per share (DPS) for 2000 through 2003. Let’s play the same game as in
Chapter 4 and pretend that we are forecasting at the end of 1999 but know for sure what the
subsequent earnings and dividends are going to be. From forecasts of EPS and DPS we can
compute successive book values per share (BPS) by adding EPS to beginning-of-period BPS
and subtracting DPS. This just applies the stocks and flows accounting relation. So the forecast of BPS for the end of 2001, for example, is 4.76, as shown below the valuation.
With a forecast of EPS and BPS we can forecast RE. The CAPM cost of capital is 9 percent,
so RE for 2001 is 0.80 – (0.09 × 4.20) = 0.422 or, calculating it from the forecasts of ROCE
and book value, RE is (0.1905 – 0.09) × 4.20 = 0.422, as also shown below the valuation.2
Now suppose we wished to value this firm at the end of 1999. We would take the present
value of the RE forecasts (the discount factors are 1.09 t ), sum them, and add the sum to the
1999 book value of $3.58 per share. This gives us a valuation of $4.53 per share, as shown.
The calculated premium over book value is 4.53 – 3.58 = 0.95. Is our valuation correct?
Well, it would be if we forecasted RE after 2003 to be zero. You see the RE are declining
over the years toward zero. Although the book value driver of RE is increasing, the ROCE
driver is declining, and in 2003 it is 9.0 percent, equal to the cost of capital. It looks as if
RE from 2003 and onward might be zero. If so, we have completed the valuation. We can
write it as
V0E = B0 +
RE1
E
+
RE 2
2
E
+
RE 3
3
E
Case 1
(5.4)
where, in this case, Year 0 is 1999 and Year T (three years ahead) is 2002.
Compare this calculation with model 5.2. The continuing premium is missing here and
this makes sense: If RE after the forecast horizon is forecasted to be zero, then the forecast
of the premium at that point must be zero. We have forecasted VTE – BT = 0.
The Forecast Horizon and the Continuing Value Calculation
We label this case of a forecast of a zero premium at the horizon as Case 1. How typical is
it? Well, let’s return to General Electric (GE), the firm for which discounted cash flow
analysis failed in Chapter 4. Case 2 displays the same five years as earlier, but now the EPS,
DPS, and BPS are given. Again pretending these actual numbers are numbers forecasted in
1999, forecasted RE and ROCE have been calculated. We charge GE a 10 percent cost for
using equity capital. The sum of the present values of the RE up to 2004 (3.27 per share),
added to the 1999 book value of 4.32 per share, yield a valuation of 7.59 per share. But this
is not correct because GE is earning a positive RE in 2004 and is probably expected to earn
more in years after. GE has a declining ROCE driver, but its growth in book value more
than offsets this to maintain its RE. The valuation of 7.59 per share is missing the continuing value, the continuing premium in model 5.2.
The continuing value is the value of residual earnings beyond the horizon. Look at the series of RE forecasts for GE. You can see that RE is fairly constant. Suppose we forecast that
RE beyond 2004 is going to be the same as the 0.882 in 2004: The subsequent RE will be a
perpetuity. The value of the perpetuity is the capitalized amount of the perpetuity:
0.882/0.10 = 8.82, as shown below the valuation. And as this is the value of expected REs
2
In this and other examples we will use the approximate CAPM cost of capital. We will also assume that
the cost of capital is the same for all future periods. This may not be realistic for the equity cost of capital
because it changes with leverage, as we will see. But we will also see (in Chapter 13) how valuations can
be made with an accommodation for leverage.
162
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
CASE 1
Flanigan’s Enterprises, Inc.
Required rate of return
is 9 percent. In this
case, residual earnings
is expected to be zero
after 2003.
Forecast Year
EPS
DPS
BPS
ROCE
RE (9% charge)
Discount rate (1.09t )
Present value of RE
Total present value of RE to 2003
Value per share
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
3.58
0.73
0.11
4.20
0.80
0.24
4.76
0.71
0.25
5.22
0.47
0.27
5.42
20.4%
0.408
1.09
0.374
19.0%
0.422
1.188
0.355
14.9%
0.282
1.295
0.217
9.0%
0.000
1.412
0.000
0.95
4.53
How the forecasts are developed (for 2001):
Forecasting Book Value per Share (BPS)
Forecasting Residual Earnings
Beginning BPS (a)
Forecasted EPS (b)
Forecasted DPS
Ending BPS
Forecasted ROCE (b/a)
Cost of equity capital
Excess ROCE (c)
RE (a × c)
4.20
0.80
(0.24)
4.76
19.05%
−9.00
10.05%
0.422
Alternatively,
RE = 0.80 – (0.09 × 4.20)
CASE 2
General Electric Co.
Required rate of return
is 10 percent. In this
case, residual earnings
is expected to be
constant, but nonzero,
after 2004.
0.422
Forecast Year
EPS
DPS
BPS
ROCE
RE (10% charge)
Discount rate (1.10t )
Present value of RE
Total present value of RE to 2004
Continuing value (CV)
Present value of CV
Value per share
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
4.32
1.29
0.57
5.04
1.38
0.66
5.76
1.42
0.73
6.45
1.50
0.77
7.18
1.60
0.82
7.96
29.9%
0.858
1.100
0.780
27.4%
0.876
1.210
0.724
24.7%
0.844
1.331
0.634
23.3%
0.855
1.464
0.584
22.3%
0.882
1.611
0.548
3.27
8.82
5.48
13.07
The continuing value:
CV =
0.882
= 8.82
0.10
Present value of continuing value =
Note: Allow for rounding errors.
8.82
= 5.48
1.6105
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
163
after 2004, it is also the value of the expected premium at the end of 2004. So we can replace
model 5.2 with
V0E = B0 +
RE1
+
RE 2
E
2
E
+L+
RET
T
E
⎛ RET +1 ⎞
+⎜
⎟/
⎝ E − 1⎠
T
E
Case 2
(5.5)
where, in GE’s case, T is five years ahead. So the 1999 valuation is 13.07 = 4.32 + 3.27 +
8.82/1.6105. The calculated premium is 13.07 – 4.32 = 8.75. The RE forecasts for 2005 and
beyond supply the continuing value (CV) at the end of 2004 and this is the expected
premium in 2004: V5E – B5 = 8.82.
We refer to the case of constant RE after the forecast horizon as Case 2. Cases 1 and 2
cover many of the cases you will run into in practice.3 You might expect Case 1 to be typical: A firm might earn a positive RE for a while (ROCE greater than the cost of capital), but
eventually competition will drive its profitability down so its ROCE will equal the cost of
capital. High ROCE do decline, as illustrated by both Flanigan’s Enterprises and GE, but it
is more common for ROCE and RE to level off at a positive amount. If so, Case 2 applies.
Note that we are able to value General Electric, even though its free cash flows are
negative. By applying accrual accounting, we have dealt with the problem that haunted us
in Chapter 4. Exercise E5.13 looks at GE in 2004.
Case 3 is demonstrated with Dell, Inc., for the fiscal years 2000 to 2005. After 2002,
Dell’s residual earnings are growing, due to fairly constant ROCE but growing book values.
It is probably unreasonable to expect RE to be constant or zero after 2005. If the growth is
forecast to continue at a constant rate, the continuing value calculation can be modified:
V0E = B0 +
RE1
E
+
RE 2
2
E
+
RE 3
3
E
+L+
RET
T
E
⎛ RET +1 ⎞
+⎜
⎟/
⎝ E − g⎠
T
E
Case 3
(5.6)
where g is 1 plus the rate of growth.4 Dell’s RE growth rate in 2005 is about 6.5 percent (g =
1.065). If this rate were expected to continue after 2005, the forecasted RE for 2006 would
be 0.605 × 1.065 = 0.644. So the continuing value is 14.32, and its present value at the end
of 2000 is 8.50, as indicated in the case study. The value at the end of 2000 is V 0E = 2.06 +
1.75 + 8.50 = 12.31.
This looks like a low valuation, for Dell traded at $58 in 2000, as we observed in Chapter 1. We challenged the price (and the P/E ratio of 87.9) at that time as looking a little high.
The $12.31 valuation, based on what happened to Dell from 2001 to 2005, does not look
unreasonable. Dell traded at $22 in 2006. Buying the stock at $12.31 in 2000 would have
given you an 11 percent return on your investment, the required return used in the calculation here. Exercise E5.11 looks at Dell in 2008.
Case 3, along with Cases 1 and 2, completes the set of cases we are likely to meet in
practice.5 The long-term level of RE and its growth rate are sometimes referred to as the
steady-state condition for the firm. The growth rate distinguishes Case 3 from Case 2
because Case 2 is just the case of no growth (g = 1.0). For the sake of our examples, we have
extrapolated growth rates. The forecast growth rate up to the horizon gives information
3
Forecasts of RE can be negative and so firms can trade at a discount. Negative RE also can be perpetual
but, more likely, it recovers to zero or a positive amount.
4
The growth rate has to be less than the cost of capital or the terminal value calculation “blows up.” It is
unreasonable to expect a firm’s RE to grow at a rate greater than the cost of capital indefinitely (and so
have an infinite price).
5
Growth could be negative at a horizon (g < 1). This is typically a case of a positive RE declining to zero.
164
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
CASE 3
Dell, Inc.
Required rate of return
is 11 percent. In this
case, residual earnings
is expected to grow at
a 6.5 percent rate after
2005.
Forecast Year
EPS
DPS
BPS
ROCE
RE (11% charge)
Discount rate (1.11t )
Present value of RE
Total present value of RE to 2005
Continuing value (CV)
Present value of CV
Value per share
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2.06
0.84
0.0
2.90
0.48
0.0
3.38
0.82
0.0
4.20
1.03
0.0
5.23
1.18
0.0
6.41
40.8%
0.613
1.110
0.553
16.6%
0.161
1.232
0.131
24.3%
0.448
1.368
0.328
24.5%
0.568
1.518
0.374
22.6%
0.605
1.685
0.359
1.75
14.32
8.50
12.31
The continuing value:
CV =
0.605 × 1.065
= 14.32
1.11 − 1.065
Present value of continuing value =
14.32
= 8.50
1.685
Note: Allow for rounding errors.
about the long-term growth rate but it is unwise to extrapolate a rate in practice. It is even
worse to assume a rate. Rather we should ask what the information tells us that the growth
rate will be. The valuation can be quite sensitive to this growth rate. If, for example, we had
specified a growth rate of 5 percent for Dell, the continuing value would have been (0.605 ×
1.05)/0.06 = 10.59, and the valuation would have been 10.09 rather than 12.31. The financial
analysis of Parts Two and Three of the book is designed to uncover the growth rate.
Note one further point: We have proceeded as if we know the required return. In fact, this
is an element of uncertainty that we have built into the valuation. Even if we believe in the
capital asset pricing model (CAPM), estimates of the required return are still speculative
(see the appendix to Chapter 3). We will return to this issue at the end of this chapter; at the
moment we can turn only one dial at a time.
Target Prices
Along with earnings forecasts and recommendations to buy, hold, or sell a stock, analysts
also provide their clients with target prices. Target prices are forecasts of future prices.
Residual earnings analysis readily supplies these target prices.
The continuing value is the terminal premium, that is, the expected difference between
the value and book value at the forecast horizon. So target price is book value plus the continuing value:VTE = BT + CVT. So for Cases 1, 2, and 3, the target prices are:
E
Flanigan’s Enterprises: Target price, V2003
= B2003 = $5.41
Case 1
E
General Electric: Target price, V2004
= B2004 + CV2004 = $7.96 + 8.82
= $16.78
Case 2
E
Dell, Inc.: Target price, V2005
= B2005 + CV2005
= $6.41 + 14.32 = $20.73
Case 3
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
165
As these target prices are those at which the investment might be sold at a future point
in time, they are terminal values (introduced in Chapter 3). Note, again, the difference
between a continuing value and a terminal value.
There is one qualification to the designation of these forecasts as target prices. The
calculations are expected values, not necessarily expected prices. They are target prices
if the analyst expects prices to “gravitate to fundamentals” in the future. But, if the analyst expects prices to deviate from fundamental value—because of speculative fever
sweeping the market, for example—she may forecast a target price that differs from her
target value.
This consideration underscores an important point in applying fundamental analysis to
stock valuation. While an analyst might conclude that a stock is currently undervalued, she
might issue a buy recommendation in anticipation of the price reverting to the target value
in the future. But a stock might take a long time to adjust to fundamental value. Indeed, in
the short run, it might deviate further away from its value. When Dell’s shares were trading
at $38 in 1998, they looked expensive by the calculations we have gone through here. An analyst might have concluded that they were overpriced and recommended selling. That would
have been a mistake in the short run for, as the bubble in technology stocks overtook the
market, Dell’s stock price increased to $58 by early 2000. Of course, the bubble burst. A fundamental investor with a long-run perspective would have avoided the bursting of the bubble: By 2006, Dell was trading at $22. Fundamental tenet number 12 (in Chapter 1) says:
Stick to your beliefs and be patient; prices gravitate to fundamentals, but that can take some
time.
The target values computed here supply the missing ingredient for dividend discount
analysis. We observed in Chapter 4 that one can discount dividends forecasted up to a forecast horizon, but the valuation is incomplete without a forecast of the terminal value. The
target values above supply the terminal values. So they complete the dividend valuation.
But note we have adopted accrual accounting techniques to do so for, unlike dividends,
accrual accounting earnings and book values are related to the value creation. The Web
page supplement to this chapter elaborates.
Converting Analysts’ Forecasts to a Valuation
Analysts typically forecast earnings for one or two years ahead and then forecast
intermediate-term growth rates for subsequent years, usually three to five years. The forecasts for one and two years ahead are somewhat reliable (but buyer beware!); however, analysts’ intermediate-term forecasts are often not much more than a guess. In any case, given
the forecasts, the investor asks: How can the forecasts be converted to a valuation?
Table 5.2 gives consensus analysts’ forecasts for Nike, Inc., made after fiscal 2008
financial statements were published. A consensus forecast is an average of forecasts made
by sell-side analysts covering the stock. The forecasts for 2009–2010 are point estimates,
and those for 2011–2013 are those implied by the analysts’ five-year intermediate-term
EPS growth rate of 13 percent per year. Analysts typically do not forecast dividends, so one
usually assumes that the current payout ratio—DPS/EPS—will be maintained in the future.
Nike paid $0.88 per share in dividends during 2008 on EPS of $3.80, so its payout ratio was
23 percent. You can see from the table that Nike’s residual earnings, calculated from the analysts’ forecasts, are growing. Analysts do not forecast earnings for the very long run, but
if we were to forecast that RE after 2009 were to grow at a long-term rate equal to the typical rate of growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 4 percent, we would establish a
continuing value of $58.24, as indicated in the table. The value implied by the analysts’
forecasts is $62.56 per share. At the time, Nike’s shares traded at $60 each. So, on these calculations, Nike is reasonably priced.
166
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
TABLE 5.2 Converting Analysts’ Forecasts to a Valuation: Nike, Inc. (NKE)
Analysts forecast EPS two years ahead ($3.90 for 2009 and $4.45 for 2010) and also give a fiveyear EPS growth rate of 13 percent. Forecasts for 2011–2013 apply this consensus EPS growth rate
to the 2010 estimate. Dividends per share (DPS) are set at the 2008 payout rate of 23 percent of
earnings. Required rate of return is 10 percent. Years labeled A are actual numbers, years labeled E
are expected numbers.
2008A
EPS
DPS
BPS
3.80
0.88
15.93
ROCE
RE (10% charge)
Discount rate (1.10)t
Present value of RE
Total PV to 2013
Continuing value (CV)
Present value of CV
Value per share
2009E
2010E
2011E
2012E
2013E
3.90
0.90
18.93
4.45
1.02
22.36
5.03
1.16
26.23
5.68
1.31
30.60
6.42
1.48
35.54
24.5%
2.307
1.100
2.097
23.5%
2.557
1.210
2.113
22.5%
2.794
1.331
2.099
21.7%
3.057
1.464
2.088
21.0%
3.360
1.611
2.086
10.48
58.24
36.15
62.56
The continuing value based on GDP growth rate:
CV =
3.360 × 1.04
= 58.24
1.10 − 1.04
Note: Allow for rounding errors.
In converting the analyst’s forecast to a valuation, we have run into some difficulties. So
the valuation is tentative. Analysts’ forecasts are usually only for the immediate future. We
have no idea of their forecasts for the long run (after 2013 here), so we are left with the
problem of supplying a continuing value at their forecast horizon. For Nike, we applied the
GDP growth rate. While this is a reasonable benchmark, is it reasonable for Nike? We will
come back to this issue at the end of the chapter. Now look at Box 5.3.
APPLYING THE MODEL TO PROJECTS AND STRATEGIES
The RE method also can be used to value projects within the firm. At the beginning of the
chapter we demonstrated this for a simple one-period project. Multiperiod project evaluation
is typically done using NPV analysis (of cash flows), as for the project in Figure 3.4 in Chapter 3 that required an investment of $1,200. Table 5.3 accounts for that project using accrual
accounting. The revenue is from the cash inflow but depreciation has been deducted to get
the net income from the project. The depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method,
that is, by spreading cost less estimated salvage value (the depreciation base) over the five
years. The book value of the project each year is its original cost minus accumulated depreciation. And this book value follows the stocks and flows equation, similar to equities:
Book valuet = Book valuet – 1 + Incomet – Cash flowt
So the book value in Year 1 is $1,200 + 214 – 430 = $984, and so for subsequent years. At
the end of Year 5, the book value is zero as the assets in the project are sold for estimated
salvage value. This is standard accrual accounting.
Demutualization of Insurance Companies:
Are These Firms Worth More Than Book Value? 5.3
A number of large insurance companies, including John
Hancock Mutual Life Insurance and Metropolitan Life Insurance, have converted from mutual companies owned by policyholders to companies owned by shareholders. The process of
“demutualization” involves issuing shares to policyholders
and new investors in an initial public offering.
When these two firms demutualized, analysts conjectured
that they would be priced at book value. They were earning
9 percent–12 percent return on equity and analysts did not
expect this rate of return to improve. Why might they trade at
book value? Well, if the return that investors require to buy
the initial share issue is also 9 percent–12 percent, the firms
would be expected to generate zero residual earnings from
their book values, and so should be priced at book value.
John Hancock’s initial public offering was on January 27,
2000, when it became John Hancock Financial Services, Inc.
The firm’s ROCE was 12 percent. It issued 331.7 million
shares, 229.7 million to policyholders. These shares traded
at $171⁄4 per share, a little above book value of $15 per
share.
The value of the project is its book value plus the present value of expected residual income calculated from the forecasts of net income and book values. This value of $1,530 is
the same as the discounted cash flow valuation in Chapter 3. The forecasts of RE have captured the value added over the cost of the investment: The present value of the forecasts of
RE of $330 equals the NPV we calculated in Chapter 3.
Strategy involves a series of ongoing investments. Table 5.4 evaluates a strategy which
(to keep it simple) requires investing $1,200 in the same project as before but in each
year indefinitely. The revenues are those from all overlapping projects in existence in a
given year: The revenue in Year 1 is $430 from the project begun in Year 0, the revenue in
Year 2 of $890 is the second year’s revenue ($460) from the project begun in Year 0 plus
the first year’s revenue from the project begun in Year 1 ($430), and so on. Depreciation
is the same as before ($216 per year for a project), so total depreciation is $216 times the
number of projects operating at a time. By the fifth year into the strategy there are five
projects operating each year with a steady stream of $1,980 in revenues and $1,080 in
depreciation. Book value at all points is accumulated net investment less accumulated
depreciation.
TABLE 5.3 Project Evaluation: Residual Earnings Approach
Hurdle rate: 12%.
Forecast Year
0
Revenues
Depreciation
Project income
Book value
Book rate of return
Residual project income (0.12)
Discount rate (1.12t )
PV of RE
Total PV of RE
Value of project
$1,200
330
$1,530
1
2
3
4
5
$430
216
214
984
17.8%
70
1.120
62.5
$460
216
244
768
24.8%
126
1.254
100.5
$460
216
244
552
31.8%
152
1.405
108.2
$380
216
164
336
29.7%
98
1.574
62.3
$250
216
34
0
10.1%
(6)
1.762
(3.4)
Value added = $330
167
168
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
TABLE 5.4 Strategy Evaluation
Hurdle rate: 12%.
Forecast Year
0
1
2
3
4
5
6...
Residual Earnings Approach
Revenues
Depreciation
Strategy income
Book value
$1,200
Book rate of return
Residual strategy income (0.12)
PV of RE
Total PV of RE
999
Continuing value1
PV of CV
2,077
Value of strategy
$4,276
$430
$890
$1,350
$1,730
$1,980
$1,980 . . .
216
432
648
864
1,080
1,080
214
458
702
866
900
900 . . .
2,184
2,952
3,504
3,840
3,840
3,840 . . .
17.8% 21.0%
23.8%
24.7%
23.4%
23.4%
70.0
195.9
347.8
445.5
439.2
439.2 . . .
62.5
156.2
247.5
283.0
249.3
3,660
Value added: $3,076
Discounted Cash Flow Approach
Cash inflow
Investment
Free cash flow
PV of FCF
Total PV of FCF
Continuing value2
PV of CV
Value of strategy
$430
$890
$(1,200) (1,200) (1,200)
(1,200) (770)
(310)
(687.5) (247.2)
20
$1,350
(1,200)
150
106.8
$1,730
(1,200)
530
336.7
$2,100
(1,200)
900
510.7
$2,100 . . .
(1,200) . .
900 . . .
7,500
4,256
$4,276
Net present value: $3,076
1
CV = 439.2/0.12 = $3,660.
CV = 900/0.12 = $7,500.
2
You see from the calculations that the strategy adds $3,076 of value to the initial investment
of $1,200 if the required return is 12 percent, and this value added is the present value of
expected residual income from the project. You also see from the second panel that this value
added equals the NPV of the strategy calculated using discounted cash flow analysis.
Many of the strategic planning products marketed by consulting firms—with such
names as economic profit models, economic value-added models, value driver models, and
shareholder value-added models—are variations on the residual earnings model. To guide
strategy analysis, they focus on the two drivers of residual income and of value added:
return on investment and growth in investment. They direct management to maximize
return on investment and to grow investments that can earn a rate of return greater than the
required return. These value-added measures are used, in turn, to evaluate and reward management on the success of their strategies.
FEATURES OF THE RESIDUAL EARNINGS MODEL
Box 5.4 lists the advantages and disadvantages of the residual earnings approach. Compare
it to summaries for the dividend discount and discounted cash flow (DCF) models in
Chapter 4. Some of the features listed will be discussed in more detail later in the book (as
indicated). Some are discussed below.
Accrual Accounting Residual Earnings Analysis
5.4
ADVANTAGES
Focus on value drivers:
Focuses on profitability of investment and growth in investment, which drive value; directs strategic thinking to these drivers.
Incorporates the financial statements:
Incorporates the value already recognized in the balance sheet (the book value); forecasts
the income statement and balance sheet rather than the cash flow statement.
Uses accrual accounting:
Uses the properties of accrual accounting that recognize value added ahead of cash
flows, matches value added to value given up, and treats investment as an asset rather
than a loss of value.
Forecast horizon:
Forecast horizons can be shorter than for DCF analysis and more value is typically recognized in the immediate future. Forecasts up to the horizon give an indication of profitability and growth for a continuing value calculation.
Versatility:
Can be used with a wide variety of accounting principles (Chapter 16).
Aligned with what people forecast:
Analysts forecast earnings (from which forecasts of residual earnings can be calculated).
Protection:
Protects from paying too much for growth.
DISADVANTAGES
Accounting complexity:
Requires an understanding of how accrual accounting works.
Suspect accounting:
Relies on accounting numbers, which can be suspect (must be applied along with an
accounting quality analysis; Chapter 17).
Book Value Captures Value and Residual Earnings
Captures Value Added to Book Value
The residual earnings approach employs the properties of accrual accounting that (typically) bring value recognition forward in time. More value is recognized earlier within a
forecasting period, and less value is recognized in a continuing value about which we usually have greater uncertainty.
Residual earnings valuation recognizes the value in the current book value on the
balance sheet, for a start; in addition, value is usually recognized in RE forecasts earlier
than for free cash flow forecasts. You can see this by comparing the value captured in
forecasts for one and two years ahead with the two methods in the strategy example we
just went through: Free cash flows forecasts are negative for Years 1 and 2 but RE forecasts are positive. Scenario 2 for the savings account, earlier in the chapter, provides an
extreme example: Forecasted free cash flows are zero, yet a savings account can be
valued immediately from the current book value, without forecasting at all. The comparison of the General Electric valuation here with the attempt to apply DCF valuation
to its negative free cash flows in Chapter 4 drives the point home. With negative free
cash flows over the forecast horizon, the continuing value must be more than 100 percent of the valuation. In the Case 2 example here it is 42 percent. In short, RE valuation
honors the fundamentalist’s dictum to put less weight on speculation (about a continuing value).
Nevertheless, forecast horizons for DCF analysis and RE analysis are often the same.
You see this in Table 5.4 where both methods forecast steady state (for the continuing value
calculation) at Year 5. We lay out the conditions where both methods give the same value
for the same forecasting horizon on the Web page supplement for Chapter 16.
169
170
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
Protection from Paying Too Much for Earnings Generated
by Investment
The stock market is often excited by earnings growth, and it rewards earnings growth with
a higher price. Analysts tend to advocate growth firms. Momentum investors push up
stock prices of growth firms, anticipating even more growth. However, growth in earnings
does not necessarily imply higher value. Firms can grow earnings simply by investing
more. If those investments fail to earn a return above the required return, they will grow
earnings but they will not grow value. So, growth comes with a caveat: An investor should
not pay for earnings growth that does not add value.
A case in point is a firm that grows earnings dramatically through acquisitions. The market often sees acquisitive firms as growth firms and gives them high P/E multiples. But, if
an acquirer pays fair value for an acquisition, it may not add value to the investment: Even
though the acquisition adds a lot of earnings, the investment just earns the required return.
Or worse, should an acquirer overpay for the acquisition—as is often the case with empire
builders—he may actually destroy value while adding earnings growth.
During the 1990s, a number of firms went on acquisition sprees. Some acquisitions were
for strategic reasons, while others appeared to be growth for growth’s sake. Tyco International, a firm with $8,471 million in assets in 1996, grew to become a conglomerate with
$111,287 million in assets by 2001. Its businesses included electronic components, undersea cables, medical supplies, fire suppression equipment, security systems, and flow control
products, and it also ran a financing arm. It became a darling of the market, with its stock
price increasing from $10 per share in 1996 to $60 in 2001. In 2002, much of its market
value evaporated, with the price falling to $8, as the value of the acquisitions—and the accounting employed in reporting earnings from the acquisitions—came into question. WorldCom grew from a small Mississippi firm to the number two telecommunications firm in the
United States, acquiring (among others) MCI. Its stock price rose to over $60, but by 2002,
due to an accounting scandal, it was trading at 25 cents per share and ultimately went bankrupt. Both Tyco and WorldCom were led by aggressive empire builders (who subsequently
resigned under doubtful circumstances), both borrowed heavily to make acquisitions, and
both ultimately ran into difficulties in servicing that debt. General Electric, on the other
hand, made many acquisitions that significantly added value.
The residual earnings model has a built-in safeguard against paying too much for earnings growth: Value is added only if the investment earns over and above its required return.
Look at Exhibit 5.3. This is the same example as in Exhibit 5.2 except that, in addition to
paying a dividend of $9.36 million, the firm issues shares in Year 1 for $50 million, giving
EXHIBIT 5.3 Forecasts for a Simple Firm with Added Investment
In millions of dollars. This is the same firm as that in Exhibit 5.2 except the firm is expected to
make a share issue of $50 in Year 1, to be invested in assets earnings 10 percent per year. Required
return is 10 percent per year.
Forecast Year
Earnings
Net dividends
Book value
RE (10% charge)
RE growth rate
0
1
2
3
4
5
12.00
9.09
100.00
12.36
(40.64)
153.00
2.36
17.73
9.64
161.09
2.43
3%
18.61
9.93
169.77
2.50
3%
19.56
10.23
179.10
2.58
3%
20.57
10.53
189.14
2.66
3%
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
171
EXHIBIT 5.4 Forecasts for a Simple Firm with an Inventory Write-down
In millions of dollars. This is the same example as in Exhibit 5.2, except the firm has written down
inventory in Year 0 by $8 million, reducing cost of goods sold in Year 1 by $8 million. Required
return is 10 percent per year.
Forecast Year
Earnings
Dividends
Book value
RE (10% charge)
RE growth rate
0
1
2
3
4
5
4.00
9.09
92.00
20.36
9.36
103.00
11.16
12.73
9.64
106.09
2.43
13.11
9.93
109.27
2.50
3%
13.51
10.23
112.55
2.58
3%
13.91
10.53
115.93
2.66
3%
it a net dividend in Year 1 of −$40.64 million. Book value at the end of Year 1 is thus
$153.00 million. The investment, earning at a 10 percent rate, is expected to contribute $5
additional earnings in Year 2, and earnings for Years 3 to 5 also increase. Yet forecasted
residual earnings are unchanged. And the calculated value is the same as before:
V0E = $100 +
$2.36
= $133.71 million.
1.10 − 1.03
Although the investment produces more earnings, it does not add value.
Protection from Paying Too Much for Earnings Created
by the Accounting
Accrual accounting can be used to create earnings. By recognizing lower earnings currently,
a firm can shift earnings to the future. An unwary investor, forecasting higher earnings,
might think that the firm is worth more. But earnings created by the accounting cannot
create value.
Exhibit 5.4 illustrates this, again with the same firm as in Exhibit 5.2. At the end of
Year 0, the management writes down inventory—in accordance with the lower of cost or
market rule—by $8 million. Accordingly, Year 0 earnings and book values are $8 million
lower. Inventory (on the balance sheet) becomes future cost of goods sold. If the inventory
written down is to be sold in Year 1, cost of goods sold for Year 1 will be $8 million lower,
and (with no change in revenues) earnings are expected to be $8 higher. You can see, by
comparing the $20.36 million forecast for Year 1 with the previous $12.36 million, that
future earnings have been created. A perceptive analyst will increase his earnings forecast
appropriately. But this is not earnings we should pay for.
Residual earnings for Year 1 is now $20.36 − (0.10 × 92.00) = $11.16 million, while that
for subsequent years is unaffected (and growing at a 3 percent rate). The valuation is
V0E = $92 +
⎤
11.16 ⎡ 2.43
+⎢
1.10⎥ = $133.71 million
1.10 ⎣1.10 − 1.03
⎦
The valuation is unchanged from before. The accounting has created earnings, but not
value, and the residual earnings valuation has protected us from paying too much for the
earnings created. How does the built-in safeguard work? Well, one can only generate future
earnings by reducing current book values—that is how accounting works. Provided we
172
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
carry the lower book value ($92 million here instead of $100 million) along in the valuation with the higher future earnings, we are protected: The higher earnings are exactly
offset by the lower book value.
Inventory write-downs are just one way of shifting income to the future. Others include
write-downs and impairments of plant assets (that reduce future depreciation charges),
restructuring charges of whole businesses, and deferment of revenue recognition. We will
embellish more as we introduce accounting issues as the text proceeds.
Capturing Value Not on the Balance Sheet—
for All Accounting Methods
Residual earnings valuation corrects for the value that accountants do not include on the
balance sheet. Chapter 2 showed how accounting rules for measuring assets and liabilities
typically yield a book value that differs from value, usually lower. Chapter 3 showed that
asset-based valuation techniques are very doubtful for correcting book values, except perhaps for natural resource companies. Residual earnings valuation solves the problem of the
imperfect balance sheet, adding a premium by forecasting the earnings that the book values will produce.
Accordingly, residual earnings valuation applies for all accounting methods for the balance sheet. Under GAAP, firms are required to expense R&D expenditures rather than book
them on the balance sheet as assets. Investment in brands through advertising and promotion
expenditures must also be expensed, so the brand asset is missing from the balance sheet.
But we saw that, although Dell has significant amounts of these “intangible assets” missing
from the balance sheet, the shares can be valued with a Case 3 valuation. With no R&D or
brand asset, subsequent amortization of the asset cost is zero, so future earnings are higher.
Combined with a charge on the lower book values in the residual earnings calculation, residual earnings are higher. These higher residual earnings compensate for the lower book values, to produce a valuation that corrects the low book value. Dell’s 2001 residual earnings of
0.613 per share and ROCE of 40.8 percent in the Case 3 demonstration reflect strong earnings. But these measures also reflect that earnings are coming from low book values because
R&D, brand, and the other intangible assets—which generate the earnings—are not on the
balance sheet. This makes sense: If assets are missing from the balance sheet, the P/B ratio
should be higher, and a higher P/B means that residual earnings are expected to be higher.
A method based on accounting numbers might be seen as suspect. For this reason, some
advocate discounted cash flow analysis, for cash flows are “real” and cannot be affected by
accounting methods. However, you can see, both in the discussion here and in the example
in Exhibit 5.4, that residual earnings valuation adjusts for the accounting, and so works for
all accounting methods. This, too, makes sense, for value is based on the economics of the
business, not on the accounting methods it uses. There are some subtleties—the forecast
horizon can be affected by the accounting methods used—but these subtleties are left for
later chapters.
Residual Earnings Are Not Affected by Dividends,
Share Issues, or Share Repurchases
In Chapter 3 we saw that share issues, share repurchases, and dividends typically do not
create value if stock markets are efficient. But, as residual earnings is based on book values
and these transactions with shareholders affect book values, won’t residual earnings (and
thus the valuation) be affected by expected dividends, share issues, and share repurchases?
The answer is no. These transactions affect both earnings and book values in the residual
earnings calculation such that their effect cancels to leave residual earnings unaffected. Go
to the Web supplement for this chapter for a demonstration.
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
173
What the Residual Earnings Model Misses
The residual earnings model captures the anticipated value to be generated within the business by applying shareholders’ investment to earn profits from selling products and services
to customers. We have recognized, however, that shareholders can also make money if shares
are issued at a price greater than their fair value. This can happen if the market price is inefficient or if management (who acts on shareholders’ behalf) has more information about the
value of the firm than the buyers of the share issue. Gains also can be made (by some of the
shareholders) from stock repurchases: If shares are repurchased at a price that is less than
fair value, the shareholders who participate in the repurchase lose value to those who chose
not to participate. In short, owners make money from selling or buying the firm at a price
that is different from fair value.
The residual earnings model calculates (appropriately) that there is no value added from
an anticipated share issue or repurchase at fair value. However, this is not so if the share
issue or repurchase is at a price that is different from fair value: The gain or loss to the
existing shareholders is not captured by the model. This might be the case when a firm uses
overpriced shares to acquire another firm by issuing shares rather than paying cash. We will
see how to correct for this deficiency when we apply the model in all its dimensions in
Chapter 15.
REVERSE ENGINEERING THE MODEL FOR ACTIVE INVESTING
As we saw in Chapter 3, active investors use fundamental screens. One of those screens
takes positions in stocks based on the P/B ratio. The P/B ratio is supposed to identify mispricing in the market: Buy low-P/B stocks, sell high-P/B stocks. We suggested in Chapter 3
that this simple screen could get you into trouble: A high P/B, for example, might be justified because considerable value is omitted in the balance sheet (and high RE are forecast
for the future). This omitted value might even be underpriced. The residual income valuation calculates the intrinsic P/B ratio and so indicates whether a high or low P/B is really
due to mispricing. The appropriate screen is the V/P ratio, where V is the calculated value.
Buy if V/P is greater than 1.0 and sell if V/P is lower. See Box 5.5.
The residual earnings model is a formula, and one must be careful in applying formulas:
It is easy to plug in any input to get any value (garbage in, garbage out). Indeed, formulas
can be used to justify any valuation one desires (in a court case, for instance, or the case of
an investment banker trying to justify a high price for a stock issue). Benjamin Graham,
the father of fundamental analysis, warned investors many years ago:
The concept of future prospects and particularly of continued growth in the future invites the
application of formulas out of higher mathematics to establish the present value of the favored
issue. But the combination of precise formulas with highly imprecise assumptions can be used
to establish, or rather justify, practically any value one wishes, however high, for a really outstanding issue.6
Graham was particularly concerned with the growth rate (“continued growth”) and we understand that the long-term growth rate in the continuing value is indeed the most speculative part of a valuation. By choosing a speculative growth rate and plugging it into the
model, we can build speculation into the valuation. We can develop false confidence.
Remember our dictum from Chapter 1: Beware of paying too much for growth.
How might we handle the model to avoid this? We could use the historical average GDP
growth rate—something we can anchor on from history—which appears to work well when
6
B. Graham, The Intelligent Investor, 4th rev. ed. (New York: Harper and Row, 1973), pp. 315–316.
Tracking Value-to-Price Ratios
Value-to-price ratios compare calculated value to the current
market price. If a V/P ratio is more than 1.0, a buy recommendation is implied. If the V/P ratio is less than 1.0, a sell recommendation is implied.
The graph below tracks median V/P ratios for all U.S. listed
firms from 1975 to 2001. Value is estimated using analysts’
consensus forecasts for two years ahead, converting them
into a residual earnings forecast (as in Table 5.2), and then applying a GDP growth rate of 4 percent for growth in residual
earnings thereafter. That is,
V0E = B0 +
RE1
+
RE2
2
+
RE2 × g
2
( − g)
The required return, ρ, is set at the risk-free rate (on U.S.
government 10-year obligations) for each year plus a 5 percent risk premium. This valuation is only approximate as the
continuing value and the required return will be different for
different firms.
Even though the valuation is approximate, you can see
that V/P ratio oscillates around 1.0. When the V/P ratio is
2.5
5.5
above 1.0—indicating prices are too low—it tends to revert to
1.0 as prices adjust to fundamentals. When V/P is below 1.0—
indicating prices are too high—it tends to revert back to 1.0.
Of course, it could be that deviations from 1.0 are due to a
poor valuation model rather than mispricing, so we would
have to be confident of our model and the numbers that go
into the model before claiming that a V/P different from
1.0 indicates mispricing. The pattern could also be due to discount rates changing as market-wide risk changes, so one
does have to be careful. We have used a risk premium of
5 percent at all points in time in calculating V here. But in bad
times, like the 1970s, investors might require a higher risk premium, pushing prices down. In good times, like the 1990s,
the risk premium declines, so prices rise. This is the “efficient
markets” interpretation of the graph.
V/P ratios should be calculated for individual firms with the
valuation tailored to each firm, but median V/P ratios—or V/P
ratios for representative portfolios like the S&P 500 or Dow
stocks—can give a sense of mispricing in the market as a
whole. Refer back to a similar graph for the Dow stocks in
Figure 1.2 in Chapter 1.
Median V/P Ratio
V/P ratio
2
1.5
1
0.5
2001
1999
1997
1995
1993
1991
1989
1987
1985
1983
1981
1979
1977
1975
0
Source: Prices are from Standard & Poor’s COMPUSTAT ®. Analysts’ earnings forecasts are from Thomson Financial I/B/E/S data.
looking at the market as a whole in Box 5.5. But stocks presumably will have different expected growth rates. We used the GDP growth rate for Nike in Table 5.2, but Nike might be
able to generate a higher growth rate than the average, as least for a number of years.
Reverse engineering is a way of dealing with the problem, and it lends itself to active investment strategies. Consider the simple example in Exhibit 5.2. Suppose that the equity
for this firm were trading at $133.71 million and you forecast earnings one-year ahead of
$12.36 million, as in the exhibit. With a 10 percent required return, that forecast implies
174
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
175
year-ahead residual earnings of $2.36 million. Accordingly, you might set up the following
problem and solve for g:
P0 = $133.71 million = $100 +
$2.36
million.
1.10 − g
P0 is the traded price of the equity, not necessarily its value (V ). With a price of $133.71
million, g = 1.03. You have converted the market price into a forecast: The market’s implied
residual earnings growth rate is 3 percent. You have done so by reverse engineering the
residual earnings model, a process sometimes referred to as inverting the model. Rather
than forecasting g and converting that forecast to a valuation, you have converted the market’s valuation into a forecast of g.
Suppose now that the equity was trading at $147.2 million. We would then calculate g
1.05. You have reverse engineered the residual earnings model to conclude that the market
is forecasting a residual earnings growth rate of 5 percent per year. If, as a result of your
analysis of the firm, you conclude that the growth rate can be no higher than 3 percent, you
would conclude that the $147.2 valuation is too high: At this price the stock is too expensive. But you might also turn the analysis on yourself: Is there something the market knows
that I don’t know?
The reverse engineering can be done another way. Suppose you were very firm in your
belief that the residual earnings growth rate can be no higher than 3 percent. Then you can
set up the following problem and solve for ρ:
P0 = $147.2 million = $100 +
RE1
ρ − 1.03
Residual earnings one year ahead, RE1, is based on the expected return, so set RE1 = $12.36 –
[(ρ – 1) × 100.0]. The reverse-engineered amount for ρ is 1.0936; that is, the market is forecasting a 9.36 percent rate of return from buying this stock. This is the market’s implied
expected return. Note, importantly, that it is not the required return, but rather the expected return to buying the stock at the current market price. So it is attractive for active investing. If you require 10 percent to compensate you for risk, you would say the stock is too
expensive. The formula for reverse engineering the expected return is:
Earn1 P 0 − B0
+
( g − 1)
P0
P0
(5.7)
⎛
B0
B ⎞
ROCE 1 + ⎜ 1 − 0 ⎟ ( g − 1)
P0
P0 ⎠
⎝
(5.7a)
−1 =
which is the same as
−1 =
The second formula says that the expected return is a weighted average of the forward
ROCE and the expected growth rate, where the weights (that sum to 1) are given by the
market’s book-to-price ratio.
Rather than screening stocks on the too-simple P/B ratio, the active investor might
screen stocks on their implied expected returns: Buy stocks with high expected returns and
sell those with low expected returns. This requires some analysis, of course, for we must
have some sense of the growth rate. Part Two of the book builds the analysis. Differences
in expected returns are explained by differences in risk as well as mispricing, so one must
conduct these screens within a given risk class. Chapter 18 elaborates.
176
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
Reverse Engineering the S&P 500
At the end of 2007, the S&P 500 index stood at 1468, which priced the portfolio of the 500
stocks in the index at 2.6 times book value. A book value multiple implies a certain RE
forecast, so we can ask: What future RE is the market implicitly forecasting to price the
S&P 500 at 2.6 times book value? The S&P firms earned an ROCE of 17 percent in 2007.
The S&P portfolio is representative of the market as a whole, so has a beta of 1.0. Thus,
with a risk-free rate of 4.0 percent at the time and an equity risk premium of 5 percent, the
CAPM required return is 9.0 percent. The following RE formula is reversed engineered to
calculate the implicit RE growth rate:
P2007 = B2007 +
RE 2007 × g
ρ− g
RE2007 g is simply the forecast of RE for 2008. The price at the end of 2007 is based on
expected RE for 2008 capitalized as a perpetuity with growth, and 2008 RE is forecasted
by growing RE for 2007 for one period. With a P/B of 2.6, every dollar of book value is
priced at 2.6 dollars, so a dollar on book value is priced as follows:
$2.6 = $1.0 +
(0.17 − 0.09) × g
1.09 − g
RE for 2007 on $1 of book value is (ROCE – Required return) × $1 = (0.17 – 0.09) = $0.08,
as in the numerator. The solution for g is 1.038, or a 3.8 percent perpetual growth rate for
residual earnings. We could test the sensitivity of this calculation to different cost of capital estimates, but we could also ask: Is it reasonable to expect a growth rate of 3.8 percent
for the S&P 500? First we would ask whether the base 2007 ROCE is a high or low year. In
fact, the average has been about 18 percent since 1980. Next we would ask what is the
expected growth from this base? If we concluded that the long-term growth rate will approximate the average historical GDP growth rate of 4 percent, we might conclude that
3.8 percent is just about right: The S&P 500 is appropriately priced.
As shown with the simple valuation and equation 5.7, we can reverse engineer to the
expected return rather than to the growth rate. You can easily see that if you have firm
convictions that the growth rate for the corporate sector must be the GDP growth rate of
4 percent for the economy as a whole, then the expected return for the S&P 500 at the end
of 2007 is about 9 percent (the exact number is 9.2 percent). If you require a 9 percent return to invest in stocks, then you would say that the market as a whole is reasonably
priced. You would be comfortable in buying an index fund. But should you infer an
expected return of less than 9 percent, you might choose not to buy an index fund, or
move out of your fund into an asset deemed more reasonably priced. Look at Exercise E15.5.
Using Analysts’ Forecasts in Reverse Engineering
In Table 5.2 we converted analysts’ consensus EPS forecasts for Nike into a valuation.
We can turn the exercise around and convert Nike’s market price of $60 into a forecast.
Analysts’ three-to-five year growth rates are notoriously speculative so, for this exercise,
we anchor on their one- and two-year ahead forecasts. The 2009 and 2010 consensus EPS
forecasts for Nike, made at the beginning of the 2009 fiscal year, were $3.90 and $4.45.
The corresponding residual earnings, calculated in Table 5.2, were $2.307 and $2.557.
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
177
As the book value per share at the end of 2008 is $15.93, the reverse engineering problem
runs as follows for the required return of 10 percent:
P2008
2.557 × g
2.307 2.557 1.10 − g
= $60 = $15.93 +
+
+
1.10
1.21
1.21
(1)
(2)
(3)
The solution for g is 1.045 or a 4.5 percent growth rate. Given the analysts’ two years of forecasts, the market is forecasting growth in residual earnings of 4.5 percent per year after 2010,
perpetually. This a little higher than the GDP growth rate, but one might expect this of Nike.
The diligent analyst asks: What growth rate do I see for Nike? If she concludes that
Nike can deliver a growth rate higher than the market’s forecast of 4.5 percent, she would
also conclude that Nike is underpriced at $60. Rather than challenging price, she challenges the market’s implied forecast of growth. Part Two of the book brings analysis to the
issue of challenging the market’s implied growth rate.
Implied Earnings Forecasts and Earnings Growth Rates
Residual earnings growth rates are a little difficult to interpret. But an implied residual
earnings growth rate can be converted into an earnings growth rate. Based on the implied
growth rate of 4.5 percent, Nike’s 2011 residual earnings are forecasted to be 2010 RE
growing at 4.5 percent: $2.557 × 1.045 = $2.672. As book value at the end of 2010 is
forecasted to be $22.36 (in Table 5.2), earnings forecasted for 2011 are ($22.36 × 0.10) +
2.672 = 4.91. This is the 2011 EPS that yields RE for 2011 of $2.672. The formula to
convert a residual earnings forecast to an earnings forecast is:
Earnings forecastt = (Book valuet−1 × Required return) + Residual earningst
(5.8)
This formula reverse engineers the residual earnings calculation.
Implied earnings forecasts can, in turn, be converted into earnings growth rates. As
Nike’s implied EPS forecast for 2011 is $4.91 and the 2010 forecast is $4.45, the forecasted EPS growth rate for 2011 is $4.91/4.45 = 10.34 percent, and so for subsequent
years. Figure 5.4 plots analysts’ growth rate for 2010 from their forecasts for 2009 and
2010 ($4.45/$3.90 = 14.1 percent), followed by the implied EPS growth rates for each
subsequent year, 2011 to 2016 for the case where the current payout ratio of 23 percent is
preserved. You can see that the constant RE growth rate translates into a declining EPS
growth rate. If you forecast that growth rates will be lower than the growth rates plotted
here, you would sell the stock, as indicated by the “sell” region in the figure. If you forecast that growth rates will be higher than the plotted market’s growth rates, you would be
in the “buy” region.
SEPARATING SPECULATION FROM WHAT WE KNOW:
VALUE BUILDING BLOCKS
The fundamentalist understands what part of a valuation is based on solid information and
what part is speculative—and so obeys his dictum to distinguish what he knows from speculation. The reverse engineering of Nike’s $60 price above labels three components of the
valuation (with the numbers under the calculation). Figure 5.5 shows how these components build the valuation.
The first, the $15.93 in book value, is known for sure, and so firmly anchors the valuation.
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
FIGURE 5.4 Plotting the Market’s Implied EPS Growth Rates: Nike, Inc.
The market’s implied forecast of EPS growth rates, obtained by reverse engineering, are plotted for
2010–2016. The growth rate for 2010 is analysts’ two-year-ahead growth rate from their EPS
estimates for 2010 and 2009. Growth rates forecasted above the line imply buying the stock.
Growth rates forecasted below the line imply sell.
14.50%
14.00%
14.1%
13.50%
EPS growth rate
13.00%
12.50%
12.00%
BUY
11.50%
11.00%
10.50%
10.34%
SELL
10.15%
10.03%
10.00%
9.50%
2010
2011
2012
2013
9.90%
9.79%
9.69%
2014
2015
2016
The second is based on forecasts for two years ahead. These are typically made with
some confidence, but with less assurance than the book value component. The value from
these forecasts is the present value of the one-year-ahead residual earnings plus that from
two-year-ahead residual earnings capitalized as a perpetuity. For Nike,
Value from second component =
1 ⎛
2.557 ⎞
2.307 +
= $25.34
⎜
1.10 ⎝
0.110 ⎟⎠
FIGURE 5.5 Building Blocks of a Residual Earnings Valuation: Nike, Inc.
The three building blocks distinguish components of a valuation about which the analyst is
reasonably sure from more speculative components: (1) book value, known for sure; (2) value from
near-term forecasts (for two years’ ahead), usually made with some confidence; and (3) value from
long-term growth forecasts, the most speculative part of the valuation.
$60
Current market value
Value per share
178
$18.73
$41.27
$25.34
$15.93
Book value
(1)
Book value
(2)
Value from
short-term
forecasts
(3)
Value from
long-term
forecasts
Beware of Paying for Risky Growth
When it comes to valuing the future, the residual earnings
model tells us to make forecasts for the short term, add a
long-term growth rate, and insert a required return that reflects risk. Each element carries uncertainty. If we are reasonably confident about our short-term forecasts, the reverse
engineering analysis shows that we can estimate the implied
growth rate if we are also reasonably confident about the
required return. Alternatively, if we are reasonably confident
with a growth forecast, we can reverse engineer to the
expected return to buying a stock at the market price.
You can see, however, that we have one too many dials to
turn here: We may not be sure of either the required return or
the growth rate. We may be more sure of the latter once we
have done more analysis (in Part Two of the book), but that
opens an intriguing question. We may forecast growth, but
growth can be risky, requiring a higher return; growth
and the required return are related. This is quite reasonable:
Following the law of a risk-return tradeoff, if one expects
more earnings (growth), one might be taking on more risk. Indeed, in setting up the building block diagram in Figure 5.5,
we recognized that the third, speculative component of the
valuation is the most uncertain and that component is of
course based on the anticipated growth rate. The higher that
component is in the valuation, the higher might be our required return. Indeed, research shows that betas are related to
the size of this component.
So, in carrying out a valuation, beware: Do not think of the
required return and the growth rate as independent inputs.
Rather, think of adjusting the required return upward if
you see more growth. If reverse engineering to the expected
return for a given growth rate, require a higher cutoff to accept the expected return if a lot of growth is involved.
Consider the short-form residual earnings model we applied in challenging the S&P 500.
RE1
P0 B0
−g
E
Cisco Systems had a book value per share of $5.83 at the end
of fiscal year 2008, and analysts were forecasting an EPS for
5.6
2009 of $1.67. After applying the required return of 9 percent
we used for the S&P 500, the EPS forecast implies a residual
earnings forecast for 2009 of $1.145. Suppose we forecast
that Cisco can maintain a growth rate of 6 percent (not unreasonable for a firm like this at the edge of its game). Then
the short-form model says that Cisco is worth
P2008 = $5.83 +
$1.145
= $44.00
1.09 − 1.06
Cisco traded at $23.80 at the time. What could be wrong?
Well, the market could be underpricing the stock, but it could
also be that the required return is too low for the high growth:
Growth is risky and the required return should reflect this. If
we set the required return at 11 percent, the value becomes
$26.40.
Clearly we will get a better fix on this once we have
analyzed growth (in Part Two) and the risk of growth (Chapter 18). But you may have noticed something here. The difference between the Cisco growth rate of 6 percent and the
GDP growth rate of 4 percent that we used for the S&P 500
earlier is 2 percent. Adding this to the required return for the
S&P 500 (the market as a whole) to yield a required return of
11 percent, we get a more reasonable price. We could follow
the rule: An extra 1 percent in the growth rate means an extra
1 percent required return, so that E and g in the denominator of the short-form model cancel. This means that growth
adds no value, just risk, with no effect of value.
This would be a conservative valuation, of course, for
firms presumably can add value from growth over the required return. The calculation follows the (too-conservative?)
mantra of the traditional fundamentalist of not paying for
growth at all. But it does have the feature of creating a margin of safety that those fundamentalists built into their valuations. And a margin of safety is surely desirable if growth is
risky.
After analyzing growth we will return, in Chapters 14 and
18, to incorporating risky growth in active investing.
You can see that the second component forecasts no growth in residual earnings after two
years. The third component adds value for growth. The long-term growth rate is usually
fairly uncertain, so this component of the valuation is the most speculative. As the first two
blocks for Nike add to $41.27, the amount of value assigned to the third block by a market
price of $60 is $18.73. If the analyst is assured of her two-year-ahead forecasts, she now
understands how much of the current price is based on speculation about growth over the
long term.
What does the building block diagram tell us? Importantly, it separates the speculative
component of price in block 3 from the blocks 1 and 2 components about which we are
179
180
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
The Web Connection
Find the following on the Web page for this chapter:
• Further applications of residual earnings valuation.
• A spreadsheet program to help you develop residual
earnings pro formas.
• Further discussion of the features of residual earnings
valuation.
• A demonstration of how residual earnings techniques
solve the problems with dividend discounting.
• Directions to finding analysts’ forecasts on the Web.
• Further examples of reverse engineering.
• The Readers’ Corner takes you to papers that cover
residual earnings valuation.
• A demonstration of how residual earnings are insensitive to dividends, share issues, and share repurchases.
more certain; following the fundamentalist dictum, it separates “what we know” (or feel
comfortable with) from speculation. The analyst not only understands where the most uncertainty in the valuation lies, but also identifies the speculative component 3 that has to be
challenged to justify the current market price. He or she then brings sound analysis to
challenge the speculative EPS growth rates underlying the third component (like those in
Figure 5.4.). This analysis is in Part Two of the book.
Before closing the chapter, go to Box 5.6. It underscores the warning of paying too
much for growth.
Summary
This chapter has outlined an accrual accounting valuation model that can be applied to
equities, projects, and strategies. The model utilizes information from the balance sheet and
calculates the difference between balance sheet value and intrinsic value from forecasts of
earnings and book values that will be reported in future forecasted income statements and
balance sheets.
The concept of residual earnings is central in the model. Residual earnings measures the
earnings in excess of those required if the book value were to earn at the required rate of return. Several properties of residual earnings have been identified in this chapter. Residual
earnings treats investment as part of book value, so that an investment that is forecast to
earn at the required rate of return generates zero residual earnings and has no effect on a
value calculated. Residual earnings is not affected by dividends, or by share issues and
share repurchases at fair value, so using the residual income model yields valuations that
are not sensitive to these (value-irrelevant) transactions with shareholders. The calculation
of residual earnings uses accrual accounting, which captures added value over cash flows.
Residual earnings valuation accommodates different ways of doing accrual accounting.
And residual earnings valuation protects us from paying too much for earnings growth generated by investment and earnings created by accounting methods.
Above all, the residual earnings model provides a way of thinking about a business and
about the value generation in the business. To value a business, it directs us to forecast profitability of investment and growth in investment, for these two factors drive residual earnings. And it directs management to add value to a business by increasing residual earnings,
which, in turn, requires increasing ROCE and growing investment. The analyst also understands the business from the model and also develops important tools to challenge the market price.
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
181
Pay attention to the reverse engineering of the residual earnings model in the last part of
the chapter. With a view to active investing, we will apply the model in this way, with refinements, later in the book. But first we must get into financial statement analysis (in Part Two of
the book) so we can more effectively challenge the precosts implied by the market price.
Key Concepts
horizon premium is the difference
between value and book value expected at
a forecast horizon. 155
implied earnings forecast is a forecast of
earnings that is implicit in the market
price. 177
implied expected return is the expected
rate of return implicit in buying at the
current market price. 175
implied residual earnings growth rate is
the perpetual growth in residual earnings
that is implied by the current market
price. 175
normal price-to-book ratio applies when
price is equal to book value, that is, the
P/B ratio is 1.00 153
residual earnings is comprehensive
earnings less a charge against book value
for required earnings. Also referred to as
residual income, abnormal earnings, or
excess profit. 150
residual earnings driver is a measure that
determines residual earnings; the two
primary drivers are rate of return on
common equity (ROCE) and growth
in book value. 153
residual earnings model is a model that
measures value added to book value from
forecasts of residual earnings. 151
steady-state condition is a permanent
condition in forecast amounts that
determines a continuing value. 163
target price is a price expected in the
future 164
terminal premium or horizon premium
is the premium at a forecast horizon (and
is equal to the continuing value for the
residual earnings valuation). 164
The Analyst’s Toolkit
Analysis Tools
Residual earnings equity
valuation
Case 1 (5.4)
Case 2 (5.5)
Case 3 (5.6)
Target price calculation
Converting an analyst’s
forecast to a valuation
Residual earnings project
valuation
Residual earnings strategy
valuation
Reverse engineering the
residual earnings model
—for implied growth rates
—for expected returns
Value-to-price ratios
Valuation building blocks
Page
153
161
163
163
164
165
167
168
173
175
175
174
177
Key Measures
Page
Continuing value (CV)
Case 1
Case 2
Case 3
Implied growth rate
Implied expected return
Growth in book value
Price/book ratio (P/B)
Return on common equity
Residual earnings (RE)
Target prices
Case 1
Case 2
Case 3
Value-to-price ratio
161
163
163
175
175
156
153
157
150
164
164
164
167
174
Acronyms to Remember
AMEX American Stock Exchange
BPS book value per share
CAPM capital asset pricing model
CV continuing value
DPS dividends per share
EPS earnings per share
GDP gross domestic product
NYSE New York Stock Exchange
P/B price-to-book ratio
RE residual earnings
ROCE return on common equity
182
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
A Self-Study Exercise
CONVERTING ANALYSTS’ FORECASTS
TO A VALUATION
Exhibit 1.1 in the Chapter 1 introduction to Kimberly-Clark gives consensus analysts’
forecasts made in March 2005 when the stock price stood at $64.81 per share. These forecasts are in the form of point estimates for 2005 and 2006 and an estimated five-year
growth rate. Find these forecasts in the exhibit. An annual dividend of $1.80 per share was
indicated for 2005 at the time, with a 9 percent annual dividend growth rate thereafter. With
book value information from the financial statements in Exhibit 2.2 in Chapter 2, calculate
the firm’s traded P/B ratio in March 2005.
With a five-year growth rate, you can forecast analysts’ EPS estimates for the years
2005–2009. Do this and, from these forecasts, lay out a corresponding return on common
equity (ROCE) and residual earnings. You will need the book value per share at the end of
2004; you can calculate this from the balance sheet given in the Kimberly-Clark case
in Chapter 2. For the residual earnings calculations, use a required return for equity of
8.9 percent.
Now go ahead and value KMB’s shares from this pro forma. Assume a long-term growth
rate in residual earnings after the five-year forecast period of 4 percent, roughly equal to the
average GDP growth rate. What is your intrinsic price-to-book ratio? What is your V/P
ratio? What reservations did you develop as you went about this task? Would you issue a
buy, hold, or sell recommendation?
Reverse Engineering
Working only from the analysts’ forecasts for 2005 and 2006, find the market’s implied
growth rate for residual earnings after 2006. What are the earnings per share and EPS growth
rates that the market is forecasting for the years 2007–2010? You might plot those
growth rates, just as in Figure 5.4.
Understanding Your Uncertainty
Assemble a building block diagram like that in Figure 5.5. What part of the valuation are
you most uncertain about?
Why does Kimberly-Clark trade at such a high price-to-book ratio? Why is its ROCE so
high, given its required equity return is only 8.9 percent?
Using Spreadsheet Tools
As you proceed through the book, you will see that most of the analysis can be built into
a spreadsheet program. The BYOAP feature on the Web site shows you how to do this,
but you might wait until Chapter 7 to get into this. At this point, experiment with the
spreadsheet tool for residual earnings valuation on the Web page supplement for this
chapter. Insert your forecasts into the spreadsheet there and specify growth rates and the
required return. By changing forecasts, growth rates, and the required returns, you can
see how sensitive the valuation is to the uncertainty about these features. If you are handy
with spreadsheets, you might try to build an engine that does the reverse engineering
also.
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
Concept
Questions
183
C5.1. Information indicates that a firm will earn a return on common equity above its cost
of equity capital in all years in the future, but its shares trade below book value.
Those shares must be mispriced. True or false?
C5.2. Jetform Corporation traded at a price-to-book ratio of 1.01 in May 1999. Its most
recently reported ROCE was 10.1 percent, and it is deemed to have a required equity return of 10 percent. What is your best guess as to the ROCE expected for the
next fiscal year?
C5.3. Telesoft Corp. traded at a price-to-book ratio of 0.98 in May 1999 after reporting an
ROCE of 52.2 percent. Does the market regard this ROCE as normal, unusually
high, or unusually low?
C5.4. A share trades at a price-to-book ratio of 0.7. An analyst who forecasts an ROCE
of 12 percent each year in the future, and sets the required equity return at
10 percent, recommends a hold position. Does his recommendation agree with
his forecast?
C5.5. A firm cannot maintain an ROCE less than the required return and stay in business
indefinitely. True or false?
C5.6. Look at the Case 3 valuation of Dell, Inc., in the chapter. Why are residual earnings increasing after 2002, even though return on common equity (ROCE) is fairly constant?
C5.7. An advocate of discounted cash flow analysis says, “Residual earnings valuation does
not work well for companies like Coca-Cola, Cisco Systems, or Merck, which have
substantial assets, like brands, R&D assets, and entrepreneurial know-how off the
books. A low book value must give you a low valuation.” True or false?
C5.8. When an analyst forecasts earnings, it must be comprehensive earnings. Why?
C5.9. Comment on the following: “ABC Company is generating negative free cash flow
and is likely to do so for the foreseeable future. Anyone willing to pay more than
book value needs their head read.”
Exercises
Drill Exercises
E5.1.
Forecasting Return on Common Equity and Residual Earnings (Easy)
The following are earnings and dividend forecasts made at the end of 2009 for a firm with
$20.00 book value per common share at that time. The firm has a required equity return of
10 percent per year.
EPS
DPS
2010
2011
2012
3.00
0.25
3.60
0.25
4.10
0.30
a. Forecast return of common equity (ROCE) and residual earnings for each year,
2010–2012.
b. Based on your forecasts, do you think this firm is worth more or less than book value?
Why?
E5.2.
ROCE and Valuation (Easy)
The following are ROCE forecasts made for a firm at the end of 2009.
Return of common equity (ROCE)
2010
2011
2012
12.0%
12.0%
12.0%
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Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
ROCE is expected to continue at the same level after 2012. The firm reported book value of
common equity of $3.2 billion at the end of 2009, with 500 million shares outstanding. If
the required equity return is 12 percent, what is the per-share value of these shares?
E5.3.
A Residual Earnings Valuation (Easy)
An analyst presents you with the following pro forma (in millions of dollars) that gives her
forecast of earnings and dividends for 2010–2014. She asks you to value the 1,380 million
shares outstanding at the end of 2009, when common shareholders’ equity stood at $4,310
million. Use a required return for equity of 10 percent in your calculations.
Earnings
Dividends
2010E
2011E
2012E
2013E
2014E
388.0
115.0
570.0
160.0
599.0
349.0
629.0
367.0
660.4
385.4
a. Forecast book value, return on common equity (ROCE), and residual earnings for each
of the years 2010–2014.
b. Forecast growth rates for book value and growth in residual earnings for each of the
years 2011–2014.
c. Calculate the per-share value of the equity from this pro forma. Would you call this a
Case 1, 2, or 3 valuation?
d. What is the premium over book value given by your calculation? What is the P/B ratio?
E5.4.
Residual Earnings Valuation and Target Prices (Medium)
The following forecasts of earnings per share (EPS) and dividend per share (DPS) were
made at the end of 2009 for a firm with a book value per share of $22.00:
EPS
DPS
2010E
2011E
2012E
2013E
2014E
3.90
1.00
3.70
1.00
3.31
1.00
3.59
1.00
3.90
1.00
The firm has an equity cost of capital of 12 percent per annum.
a. Calculate the residual earnings that are forecast for each year, 2010 to 2014.
b. What is the per-share value of the equity at the end of 2009 based on the residual
income valuation model?
c. What is the forecasted per-share value of the equity at the end of the year 2014?
d. What is the expected premium in 2014?
E5.5.
Residual Earnings Valuation and Return on Common Equity (Medium)
A firm with a book value of $15.60 per share and 100 percent dividend payout is expected
to have a return on common equity of 15 percent per year indefinitely in the future. Its cost
of equity capital is 10 percent.
a. Calculate the intrinsic price-to-book ratio.
b. Suppose this firm announced that it was reducing its payout to 50 percent of earnings
in the future. How would this affect your calculation of the price-to-book ratio?
E5.6.
Using Accounting-Based Techniques to Measure Value Added
for a Project (Medium)
A firm announces that it will invest $150 million in a project that is expected to generate a
15 percent rate of return on its beginning-of-period book value each year for the next five
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
185
years. The required return for this type of project is 12 percent; the firm depreciates the cost
of assets straight-line over the life of the investment.
a. What is the value added to the firm from this investment?
b. Forecast free cash flow for each year of the project. What is the net present value of
cash flows for the project?
E5.7.
Using Accounting-Based Techniques to Measure Value Added
for a Going Concern (Medium)
A new firm announces that it will invest $150 million in projects each year forever. All
projects are expected to generate a 15 percent rate of return on its beginning-of-period
book value each year for five years. The required return for this type of project is 12 percent; the firm depreciates the cost of assets straight-line over the life of the investment.
a. What is the value of the firm under this investment strategy? Would you refer to this
valuation as a Case 1, 2, or 3 valuation?
b. What is the value added to the initial investment of $150 million?
c. Why is the value added greater than 15 percent of the initial $150 million investment?
E5.8.
Creating Earnings and Valuing Created Earnings (Medium)
The prototype one-period project at the beginning of the chapter was booked at its historical
cost of $400. Suppose, instead, that the accountant wrote down the investment to $360 on the
balance sheet at the beginning of the period. See the investment as consisting of $360 of
plant (booked to the balance sheet) and $40 advertising (which cannot be booked to the balance sheet under GAAP). Revenues of $440 are expected from the project and the required
return is 10 percent.
a. Forecast earnings from this project for the year.
b. Forecast the rate of return on the book value of this investment and also the residual
earnings.
c. Value the investment.
E5.9.
Reverse Engineering (Easy)
A share traded at $26 at the end of 2009 with a price-to-book ratio of 2.0. Analysts are
forecasting earnings per share of $2.60 for 2010. The required equity return is 10 percent.
What is growth in residual earnings that the market expects beyond 2010?
Applications
E5.10.
Residual Earnings Valuation: Black Hills Corp (Easy)
Black Hills Corporation is a diversified energy corporation and a public utility holding company. The following gives the firm’s earnings per share and dividends per share for the years
2000–2004.
1999
EPS
DPS
BPS
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2.39
1.06
3.45
1.12
2.28
1.16
2.00
1.22
1.71
1.24
9.96
Suppose these numbers were given to you at the end of 1999, as forecasts, when the book value
per share was $9.96, as indicated. Use a required return of 11 percent for calculations below.
a. Calculate residual earnings and return of common equity (ROCE) for each year,
2000–2004.
186
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
b. Value the firm at the end of 1999 under the assumption that the ROCE in 2004 will
continue at the same level subsequently. Would you call this a Case 1, Case 2, or Case 3
valuation?
c. Based on your analysis, give a target price at the end of 2004.
E5.11.
Valuing Dell, Inc. (Easy)
In September 2008 the shares of Dell, Inc., the computer maker, traded at $20.50 each. Analysts were forecasting earnings per share of $1.47 for fiscal year 2009 and $1.77 for 2010.
Refer to Dell’s balance sheet in Exhibit 2.1 in Chapter 2 to calculate its book value at the end
of the fiscal year ending February 1, 2008. Dell pays no dividends. Use a required return of
10 percent to answer the following questions:
a. Calculate the per-share value of Dell in 2008 based on the analysts’ forecasts, with an
additional forecast that residual earnings will grow at the anticipated GDP growth rate
of 4 percent per year after 2010.
b. Given the analysts’ forecasts, what was the market’s forecast of the residual earnings
growth rate after 2010?
Real World Connection
Exercises E3.7, E3.14, E8.12, E13.16, and E19.4 deal with Dell, as do Minicases M10.1
and M15.2.
E5.12.
Sellers Wants to Buy (Medium)
Mark Sellers, a hedge fund manager with Sellers Capital in Chicago, wrote a piece in the
Financial Times on September 9, 2006, arguing that Home Depot, the warehouse retailer,
was worth $50 per share. Home Depot traded at $34 per share at the time. Analysts were
forecasting a consensus $2.98 earnings per share for fiscal year 2007 and $3.26 for 2008.
A forward dividend of $0.60 per share was indicated for 2007 and $0.70 for 2008, with the
dividend payout ratio maintained at the 2008 level in subsequent years. Home Depot reported a book value of $26,909 million for fiscal year ending January 2006, with 2,124
shares outstanding.
Use a required return of 10 percent per year in answering the following questions:
a. Given the analysts’ forecasts, what is the growth rate for residual earnings after 2008
that is implied by Mr. Sellers’s $50 valuation?
b. What are the earnings-per-share growth rates for 2009 and 2010 that are implied by
Mr. Sellers’s $50 valuation?
Real World Connection
See Exercises E9.10, E11.10, E12.9, and E14.13 on Home Depot, and Minicases 4.1.
E5.13.
Building Blocks for a Valuation: General Electric Co. (Medium)
General Electric Co. reported a per-share book value of $10.47 in its balance sheet on
December 31, 2004. In early 2005, analysts were forecasting consensus earnings per share
of $1.71 for 2005 and $1.96 for 2006.
a. Calculate the value per share in early 2005 with a forecast that residual earnings will grow
at a long-term growth rate of 4 percent, the average GDP growth rate, after 2006.
b. General Electric traded at $36 per share in early 2005. Construct a building block diagram,
like that in Figure 5.5, displaying the components of this $36 price that are attributable to
book value, short-term earnings expectations, and speculation about long-term growth.
c. What is the forecast of the residual earnings growth rate after 2006 that is implied by the
$36 market price?
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
187
d. What are the forecasts of earnings growth rates for 2007 and 2008 that are implied by
the $36 market price? Assume that the firm’s dividend payout ratio of 50 percent will be
maintained after 2006.
Real World Connection
Exercises E6.10, and E10.8 also deal with General Electric.
E5.14.
Reverse Engineering Growth Forecasts for the S&P 500 Index (Medium)
With the S&P price index at 1270 in early 2006, the S&P 500 stocks traded at 2.5 times book
value. On most recent (2005) annual earnings, the stocks in the index earned a weighted
average return on their common equity of 18 percent. Use a required equity return of 10 percent for this “market portfolio.”
a. Calculate the residual earnings growth rate that the market is forecasting for these
stocks.
b. Suppose you forecast that a return on common equity of 18 percent will be sustained in
the future. What is the growth in the net assets that you would then forecast at the
current level of the index?
E5.15.
The Expected Return for the S&P 500 (Medium)
On January 1, 2008, the S&P 500 index stood at 1468 with a price-to-book ratio of 2.6.
Expected earnings for the index for calendar year 2008 were 72.56. These earnings estimates,
compiled from analysts’ consensus earnings forecasts for the 500 stocks in the index, are in
the same dollar units as the index.
a. What is the forecast of return on common equity (ROCE) for the index for 2008?
b. If you expect residual earnings growth for the corporate sector to equal the GDP
growth rate of 4 percent for the economy as a whole, what is the implied expected
return to buying the S&P 500 at 1468?
c. The risk-free rate at the time was 4 percent. If you require a risk premium of 5 percent
to buy equities, would you have bought an index fund that tracks the S&P 500 index?
d. In 1999, the price-to-book ratio for the S&P 500 was much higher, at 5.4. Trailing
ROCE was 23 percent.With the same GDP growth rate for growth in residual earnings,
calculate the implied expected return to buying the S&P 500 at that point in time.
Would you have purchased a market index fund that tracks the S&P 500 index?
E5.16.
Valuing Dividends or Return on Equity: General Motors Corp (Easy)
In April 2005, General Motors traded at $28 per share on book value of $49 per share.
Analysts were estimating that GM would earn 69 cents per share for the year ending
December 2005. The firm was paying an annual dividend at the time of $2.00 per share.
a. Calculate the price-to-book ratio (P/B) and the return on common equity (ROCE) that
analysts were forecasting for 2005.
b. Is the P/B ratio justified by the forecasted ROCE?
c. An analyst trumpeted the high dividend yield as a reason to buy the stock. (Dividend
yield is dividend/price.) “A dividend yield of over 7 percent is too juicy to pass up,” he
claimed. Would you rather focus on the ROCE or on the dividend yield?
Real World Connection
Exercises E2.12 and E4.10 also deal with General Motors.
E5.17.
Residual Earnings Valuation and Accounting Methods (Hard)
Refer back to the valuation in Exercise 5.3. In that pro forma, an analyst forecast $388 million of earnings for 2010 on a book value at the end of 2009 of $4,310 million, that is, a
188
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
return on common equity of 9 percent. The forecasts were made at the end of 2009 based
on preliminary reports from the firm.
When the final report was published, however, the analyst discovered that the firm had
decided to write-down its inventory at the end of 2009 by $114 million (following the
lower-of-cost-or-market rule). As this was inventory that the analyst forecasted would be
sold in 2010 (and thus the impairment affects cost of goods sold for that year), the analyst
revised her earnings forecast for 2010. For questions (a) and (b), ignore any effect of taxes.
a. What is the revised earnings forecast for 2010 as a result of the inventory impairment
assuming no change in the sales forecast? What is the revised forecast of return on
common equity (ROCE) for 2010?
b. Show that the revision in the forecast of 2010 earnings does not change the valuation
of the equity.
c. Recognize, now, that the firm’s income tax rate is 35 percent. Do your answers to questions (a) and (b) change?
E5.18.
Impairment of Goodwill (Hard)
A firm made an acquisition at the end of 2008 and recorded the acquisition cost of $428
million on its balance sheet as tangible assets of $349 million and goodwill of $79 million.
The firm used a required return of 10 percent as a hurdle rate when evaluating the acquisition and determined that it was paying fair value.
a. What is the projected residual income from the acquisition for 2009?
b. By the end of 2009, the tangible assets from the acquisition had been depreciated to a
book value of $301 million. Management ascertained that the acquisition would subsequently earn an annual return of only 9 percent on book value at the end of 2009.
What is the amount by which goodwill should be impaired under the FASB and IASB
requirements for impairment?
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
Minicases
189
M5.1
Forecasting from Traded Price-to-Book Ratios:
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO), manufactures and sells networking and communications
equipment for transporting data, voice, and video and provides services related to that equipment. Its products include routing and switching devices, home and office networking
equipment, Internet protocol, telephony, security, network management, and software services. The firm has grown organically but also through acquisition of other networking and
software firms. Cisco’s Web site is at www.cisco.com.
Cisco was a darling of the Internet boom, one of the few firms with concrete products.
Indeed its products were important to the development of the infrastructure for the Internet
age and the expansion in telecommunications. At one point, in early 2000, the firm traded
with a total market capitalization of over half a trillion dollars, exceeding that of Microsoft,
and its shares traded at a P/E of over 130. With the bursting of the Internet bubble and the
overcapacity in telecommunications resulting from overinvestment by telecommunications
firms, Cisco’s growth slowed, but it certainly was a strong survivor. By 2004, its revenue
had recovered to the $22.0 billion level reported for 2001.
In September 2004, just after its reports for fiscal year ended July 2004 had been
published, Cisco’s 6,735 million shares traded at $21 each on book value of $25,826 million. The firm pays no dividend. Analysts were forecasting consensus basic earnings per
share of $0.89 for 2005 and $1.02 for 2006. Most analysts had buy recommendations on the
stock, some had holds, but none was issuing a sell recommendation. With a beta close to
2.0, investment analysts were using a 12 percent required return for Cisco’s equity at the
time.
A. Bring all the tools in this chapter to an evaluation of whether Cisco’s price-to-book ratio
in September 2004 is appropriate. You will not be able to resolve the issue without some
detailed forecasting of Cisco’s future earnings (which you should not attempt at this
stage). Rather, using the analysts’ forecasts for 2005 and 2006, quantify the earnings
forecasts for subsequent years implicit in Cisco’s $21 price that could be challenged
with further analysis. Identify the speculative components of Cisco’s price using the
building block approach. Figures 5.4 and 5.5 should be helpful to you.
B. Analysts were forecasting an average target price of $24 for the end of fiscal year 2005.
Is the target price consistent with a buy recommendation on the stock? Analysts were
also forecasting a 14.5 percent five-year growth rate for earnings. Is the buy recommendation consistent with the forecasts that analysts were making?
C. If, through diligent analysis, you concluded that Cisco’s long-run residual earning
growth rate can be no more than 6 percent per year, what is the expected rate of return
from buying Cisco at $21?
Real World Connection
See Minicase M6.1 in Chapter 6 for a parallel investigation using P/E ratios. Minicase M14.2
also deals with Cisco, as well as Exercises E14.12 and E2.11.
190
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
M5.2
Analysts’ Forecasts and Valuation:
PepsiCo and Coca-Cola
PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) is a global snack and beverage company operating in nearly 200 countries. It is organized into four divisions: Frito-Lay North America, PepsiCo Beverage North
America, PepsiCo International, and Quaker foods. Products include convenience snacks,
sweet and grain-based snacks, carbonated and noncarbonated drinks, and foods.
On October 1, 2004, PepsiCo traded at $49.80 per share on a book value at the end of
2003 of $6.98 per share. Analysts were forecasting per-share earnings of $2.31 for fiscal
year ending December 31, 2004, and $2.56 for the 2005 year. The indicated dividend for
2004 was 0.98 per share. The street was using 9 percent as a required rate of return for
PepsiCo’s equity.
The Coca-Cola Company (KO) also operates in over 200 countries worldwide and competes intensively with PepsiCo in the market for carbonated and noncarbonated beverages.
On October 1, Coke traded at $40.70 per share on a book value per share of $5.77 at the
end of 2003. Analysts were forecasting $1.99 in earnings per share for fiscal year ending
December 31, 2004, and $2.10 for 2005. The indicated dividend per share was $1.00. The
equity is considered to have the same required return as PepsiCo.
A. For both PepsiCo and Coke, calculate the earnings per share that the market was implicitly forecasting for 2006, 2007, and 2008.
B. Analysts were forecasting a five-year annual growth rate in earnings per share of 11 percent for PepsiCo and 8 percent for Coke. Compare these growth rates with those that
were implied by the market prices for the firm’s shares at the time.
C. Why do these firms have such high P/B ratios? Why are their rates of return on common
equity (ROCE) so high?
For your calculations, assume that the payout ratio indicated for 2004 will be maintained in
the future.
Real World Connection
See Minicase M6.2 in Chapter 6 for a parallel investigation using P/E ratios. See also Minicase M4.1 in Chapter 4 for discounted cash flow analysis applied to Coca-Cola. Exercises
E4.5, E4.6, E4.7, E11.7, E12.7, E14.9, E15.12, E16.7, and E19.4 also deal with Coca-Cola,
and Exercises E4.12 and E9.8 deal with PepsiCo.
M5.3
Kimberly-Clark: Buy Its Paper?
In an article in Barron’s on April 21, 2008, a commentator remarked, “As one of the world’s
largest makers of bathroom tissue and baby diapers, Kimberly-Clark knows a thing or two
about bottoms. Lately, however, shares of the venerable household-products company,
whose Kleenex brand is virtually synonymous with tissue, look to be near a bottom of another sort.”
With Shares trading at $63.20, down to a near low from a 52-week high of $72.79, the
trailing P/E of 15 was low by historical standards. “This is as cheap as it gets for this
Chapter 5 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Book Values
191
company” claimed a portfolio manager. In 2007, Kimberly-Clark (KMB) grew sales by
9 percent, compared with just over 5 percent the year before. Even though it absorbed
increased raw material costs without increasing prices, the firm grew operating profit by
24.5 percent. Analysts expected that the firm would be able to pass those costs on to customers in 2008 and 2009, further accelerating earnings growth. Benefits from the firm’s
Competitive Improvement Initiative and Strategic Cost Reduction Plan, both begun in 2005
to streamline marketing, manufacturing, and administrative operations, were evident, and its
research and development operation was producing new products like GoodNites Sleep
Boxers and SleepShorts disposable training pants.
The Barron’s article concluded, “Kimberly shares are a lot like Kleenex: Every investor
should tuck some in a pocket.” This case asks whether you agree.
At the time, the consensus analysts’ estimate of earnings per share for the year ending
December 31, 2008, was $4.54 and $4.96 for 2009, up from the $4.13 earnings per share
reported for 2007. At the end of 2007, the firm also reported book value of $5,224 million
on 420.9 million outstanding shares. Morningstar, a provider of financial information and
mutual fund rankings, was forecasting a dividend of $2.32 per share for 2008.
A. Calculate the forward P/E and price-to-book (P/B) at which Kimberley-Clark was
trading.
B. Using the analysts’ forecasts, value KMB with an additional forecast that residual earnings will grow at the GDP growth rate of 4 percent per year after 2009. Use a required
return of 9 percent.
C. The dividend payout ratio for 2008 is expected to be maintained in 2009. Based on your
calculations, what target price would you forecast for the end of 2009?
D. Consumers require tissues, paper towels, and diapers in good times and bad, so
Kimberly-Clark has a fairly low equity beta is 0.6. Thus, a 9 percent required return may
be a bit high. If the equity risk premium for the market as a whole is 5 percent and the
risk-free rate is 5 percent, show that the required return from the capital asset pricing
model (CAPM) for a beta of 0.6 is 8 percent. What would your valuation of KMB be if
the required return were 8 percent? Also test the sensitivity of your valuations to a
required return of 10 percent.
E. At a price of $63.20, what is the market’s implied forecast of the residual earnings
growth rate after 2009 for a 9 percent required return? What is its forecast of the
earnings-per-share growth rate for 2010?
F. Do you agree with the conclusion in the Barron’s article? What aspect of your calculations are you most uncomfortable with?
Real World Connection
The Continuing Case at the end of each chapter covers Kimberly-Clark. Also see
Exercises E4.8, E6.14, E7.8, E10.10, and E11.16.
Chapter Six
Accrual Accounting
and Valuation:
Pricing Earnings
LINKS
Link to previous chapter
Chapter 5 showed how to
price book values in the
balance sheet and
calculate intrinsic
price-to-book ratios.
This chapter
This chapter shows how
to price earnings in the
income statement and
calculate intrinsic
price-earnings ratio.
Link to next chapter
Chapter 7 begins the
financial statement
analysis that is necessary
to carry out the
price-to-book and
price-earnings
valuations discussed in
Chapters 5 and 6.
Link to Web page
The Web page supplement
has more applications
of the techniques
in this chapter.
How
Howareare
price-earnings
returns
calculated?
ratios
determined?
How is a firm
valued from
forecasts of
earnings
growth? When
should an
investor not
pay for
growth?
How do
valuation
methods
protect the
investor
from paying
too much
for earnings
growth?
How does the
analyst
infer the
market's
forecast of
earnings
growth?
The last chapter showed how to anchor valuations on the book value, the bottom line of the
balance sheet. This chapter shows how to anchor valuations on earnings, the bottom line of
the income statement. By anchoring on book value, the analyst develops the price-to-book
ratio (P/B). By anchoring on earnings, the analyst develops the price-earnings ratio (P/E).
So, while the last chapter asked how much one should pay per dollar of book value, this
chapter asks how much one should pay per dollar of earnings.
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
193
The Analyst’s Checklist
After reading this chapter you should understand:
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
• What a P/E ratio means.
• Calculate cum-dividend earnings.
• What “abnormal earnings growth” is.
• Calculate abnormal earnings growth.
• How forecasting abnormal earnings growth yields the
intrinsic P/E ratio.
• Calculate the value of equities from forecasts of earnings
and dividends.
• What is meant by a normal P/E ratio.
• Calculate intrinsic forward P/E and trailing P/E ratios.
• The difference between ex-dividend earnings growth
and cum-dividend earnings growth.
• Calculate continuing values for the abnormal earnings
growth model.
• The difference between a Case 1 and Case 2 abnormal
earnings growth valuation.
• Convert an analyst’s EPS forecast to a valuation.
• How both abnormal earnings growth valuation and
residual earnings valuation put less weight on a speculative, long-term continuing value.
• Calculate implied earnings growth forecasts from the
market price of a stock.
• The advantages and disadvantages of using an abnormal earnings growth valuation and how the valuation
compares with residual earnings valuation.
• Evaluate a PEG ratio.
• How abnormal earnings growth valuation protects the
investor from paying too much for earnings growth.
• Identify the speculative component of a valuation.
• Calculate the expected return from buying a stock at
the current market price.
• Apply tools that challenge the market price.
• How abnormal earnings growth valuation protects the
investor from paying for earnings that are created by
accounting methods.
• How to use the abnormal earnings growth model in
reverse engineering.
• What a PEG ratio is.
THE CONCEPT BEHIND THE PRICE-EARNINGS RATIO
P/B ratios differ from 1.0 because accountants do not measure the full value of the equity
in the balance sheet. However, the missing value is ultimately realized in the future earnings that assets produce, and these earnings can be forecasted: A price-to-book ratio is determined by expected earnings that have not yet been booked to book value, and the higher
the future earnings relative to book value, the higher the P/B ratio.
A parallel idea lies behind the P/E ratio. As share prices anticipate future earnings, the
P/E ratio compares the value of expected future earnings (in the numerator) to current earnings (in the denominator). Just as the P/B ratio is based on expected earnings that have not
yet been booked to book value, the P/E ratio is based on expected earnings that have not yet
been recognized in current earnings. So P/E ratios are high when one forecasts considerably higher future earnings than current earnings, and P/E ratios are low when future earnings are forecasted to be lower than current earnings. In short, the P/E ratio prices earnings
growth.
This chapter supplies the formal valuation model to implement this concept of the P/E
ratio rigorously, as well as the mechanics to apply the model faithfully. The formality is
warranted, for one can pay too much for earnings growth if one is not careful.
194
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
Beware of Paying Too Much for Earnings Growth
History shows that high P/E stocks—so-called growth stocks—have been rewarding investments during bubble periods: Investors, excited about growth, push up prices, and momentum trading takes over to yield yet higher prices and yet higher P/E ratios. But history also
shows that, overall, growth expectations are not realized: High P/E stocks have earned lower
returns than low P/E stocks, and lower returns than broad indexes. Chapter 5 came with a
warning: Beware of earnings growth, and use valuation methods that build in protection
from paying too much for earnings growth.
This warning sets the stage for this chapter: A sound P/E valuation prices earnings
growth but does not price growth that does not add value. This chapter not only supplies the
appropriate valuation but also one that typically puts less weight on speculative, long-run
continuing values. Accordingly, like residual earnings valuation, the valuation is adept at
challenging the speculation in the market’s P/E ratio.
From Price-to-Book Valuation to P/E Valuation
As both the P/B ratio and the P/E ratio are based on the same earnings expectations, valuation methods that anchor on earnings must yield the same valuation as methods that anchor
on book values. Indeed, we can quickly show this by returning to the Case 3 valuation of
Dell, Inc., in Chapter 5. Dell’s pro forma for the residual earnings (RE) valuation at the end
of 2000 is reproduced here with one extra line: the change in residual earnings forecasted
each year. (The 2006 numbers are based on residual earnings growing at 6.5 percent, as in
the P/B valuation.)
Forecast Year
2000
EPS
DPS
BPS
RE (11% charge)
Change in RE
2.06
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
0.84
0.0
2.90
0.613
0.48
0.0
3.38
0.161
0.452
0.82
0.0
4.20
0.448
0.287
1.03
0.0
5.23
0.568
0.120
1.18
0.0
6.41
0.605
0.037
1.35
0.0
7.76
0.644
0.039
Rather than anchoring on book value, anchor on the forward earnings of $0.84 per share.
Earnings are just the change in book value (before dividends), so correspondingly add to
this anchor by forecasting the subsequent change in residual earnings ( RE) as follows:
V0E =
RE
RE
RE 2
RE
1 ⎡
+ 2 3+ 3 4+ 4 5+
⎢ EPS1 +
−1⎣
E
E
E
E
E
4
E
RE6 ⎤
⎥
( E − g) ⎦
(6.1)
With the forecasts above, a required return of 11 percent, and an RE growth rate of 6.5 percent after 2005 (as in Chapter 5), the per-share value for Dell is
E
V2000
=
⎤
1 ⎡
− 0.452 0.287 0.120 0.037
0.039
+
+
+
+
⎥
⎢0.84 +
2
3
4
4
0.11 ⎢⎣
1.11
1.11
1.11
1.11
1.11 (1.11 − 1.065) ⎥⎦
= $12.31
This is the same value we obtained in Chapter 5 (allowing for rounding error). Changes in
residual earnings are growth in residual earnings, so we are adding growth to forward
earnings. Thus we have the intrinsic forward P/E ratio that incorporates growth expectaE
tions: V2000
$12.31/$0.84 14.65. One aspect may give you pause: Forward earnings is
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
195
a forecasted number (yours or an analyst’s), so we are anchoring on a forecast rather than
something in the present. But the forward earnings is earnings for the current fiscal year
(not yet ended), and we may well have up to three quarterly earnings already. But we can
anchor on the number only if we feel it is something we are fairly confident about (rather
that pure speculation). If not, forecast the forward earnings as equal to the trailing actual
earnings.
Thinking of growth as residual earnings growth is a bit awkward. We would prefer to
think of a P/E in terms of earnings growth rather than residual earnings growth. And indeed
we can.
PROTOTYPE VALUATION
In anchoring a valuation on earnings rather than book values, appreciate that earnings is a
measure of change in value—a flow rather than a stock. To convert flows to stocks, simply
capitalize the flow. The stock of value implied by earnings is
Stock of value =
Earnings
Required return
This earnings capitalization was explained in Box 3.6 in Chapter 3. The way to think about
anchoring value on earnings is as follows:
Value = Capitalized earnings + Extra value for forecasted earnings growth
To value earnings we always start with the anchor of capitalized earnings, and then ask
what extra value must be added for anticipated earnings growth.
A savings account is easy to value, so we will begin with this simple asset as a prototype
for valuing equities. Exhibit 6.1 presents the same savings account as in Exhibit 5.1 in
EXHIBIT 6.1
Forecasts for a
Savings Account with
$100 Invested at the
End of 2008, Earning
5% per Year
Forecast Year
2008
2009
2010
Earnings withdrawn each year (full payout)
Earnings
5
5
Dividends
5
5
Book value
100
100
100
Residual earnings
0
0
Earnings growth rate
0
0
Cum-dividend earnings
5
5.25
Cum-dividend earnings
growth rate
5%
No withdrawals (zero payout)
Earnings
5
Dividends
0
Book value
100
105
Residual earnings
0
Earnings growth rate
Cum-dividend earnings
5
Cum-dividend earnings
growth rate
5.25
0
110.25
0
5%
5.25
5%
2011
2012
2013
5
5
100
0
0
5.51
5
5
100
0
0
5.79
5
5
100
0
0
6.08
5%
5.51
0
115.76
0
5%
5.51
5%
5%
5.79
0
121.55
0
5%
5.79
5%
5%
6.08
0
127.63
0
5%
6.08
5%
196
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
Chapter 5. The account involves $100 invested in 2008 to earn a 5 percent rate each year,
from 2009 and thereafter. Two dividend payout scenarios are presented, full payout and no
payout.
In both cases, expected residual earnings are zero, so the asset can be valued at its book
value of $100 in 2008 using the residual earnings model. However, the asset also can be
valued by capitalizing forward 2009 earnings of $5:
Value of savings account =
Forward Earnings
$5
=
= $100
Required return
0.05
Thus the savings account can be valued not only from its book value, but also by capitalizing forward earnings.
For the savings account, there is no extra value for anticipated earnings growth. However, you will notice that, while the earnings growth rate in the full-payout scenario is zero,
it is 5 percent per year in the no-payout scenario. Yet the value of the account is the same in
both cases. According to our calculations, we will not pay for the 5 percent growth. The
growth of 5 percent comes from reinvesting earnings, but the reinvested earnings earn only
the required return. The equivalent valuations for the two accounts demonstrate the principle that one does not pay for growth that comes from an investment that earns only the
required return, for such an investment does not add value.
A little more formalism captures this idea and protects us from paying too much for
growth. The earnings growth rates in the two scenarios look different, but in fact they are
not. The earnings from the full-payout account are actually understated, for the dividends
from the account can be reinvested in an identical account to earn 5 percent. So, for example, the $5 withdrawn in 2009 can be reinvested to earn 5 percent, or $0.25 in 2010, so that
the total expected earnings for 2010 are $5.25, the same as the zero-payout account. Earnings from an asset arise from two sources, earnings earned by the asset and earnings earned
from reinvesting dividends in another asset. So, by reinvesting dividends for all years, the
earnings in the two payout scenarios here are the same; in the no-payout case, earnings are
reinvested in the same account—that is, earnings are retained—and in the full-payout case,
earnings can be reinvested in a different account, in both cases earning 5 percent.
The total earnings from an investment are referred to as cum-dividend earnings, that
is, earnings with the dividend reinvested. Earnings without the reinvestment of dividends
are called ex-dividend earnings. Value is always based on expected cum-dividend earnings and the P/E ratio is always based on cum-dividend earnings growth, for we must keep
track of all sources of earnings from the investment. For 2010, the earnings with reinvestment of the dividends from the prior year is
Cum-dividend earnings2010 = Earnings2010 + (ρ − 1)dividend2009
where ρ is (as before) 1 plus the required return. So, for the full-payout savings account,
cum-dividend earnings for 2010 are Earnings2010 + (0.05 × Dividend2009) = $5 + (0.05 ×
$5) = $5.25.
On a cum-dividend basis, earnings growth in the two scenarios is the same, 5 percent per
year, as you can see from the cum-dividend earnings line in Exhibit 6.1. However, in both
cases, the earnings growth is not growth that we will pay for. We only pay for earnings
growth that is greater than the required return. Earnings that are due to growth at the
required return are called normal earnings. For any period, t
Normal earningst = ρEarningst−1
So, for the savings account, normal earnings in 2010 = 1.05 × $5 = $5.25, that is, the prior
year’s earnings growing at 5 percent. The part of cum-dividend earnings for which we will
A Riddle
6.1
P/E RATIOS AND EARNINGS GROWTH
FOR THE S&P 500
The historical average forward P/E ratio for the S&P 500 is
about 15 (and the average trailing P/E ratio is about 16). The
historical average earnings per share growth rate is about
8.5 percent per year. If the required return for stocks in general is 10 percent, the normal forward P/E ratio is 10. These
numbers present a riddle: If the growth rate is 8.5 percent,
less than the required return of 10 percent, the forward P/E
should be below the normal of 10, not above it at 15.
The riddle is solved as follows. Firms in the S&P 500 pay
dividends; indeed, the historical dividend payout ratio has
been about 45 percent of earnings. The 8.5 percent growth
rate is an ex-dividend growth rate. The cum-dividend growth
rate with 45 percent payout is about 13 percent. So, historically, earnings have really grown 13 percent per year, cumdividend, above the assumed required return of 10 percent.
That puts the forward P/E ratio above the normal of 10, which
indeed it has been.
pay is the cum-dividend earnings growth over these normal earnings, that is, the abnormal
earnings growth:
Abnormal earnings growtht = Cum-dividend earningst − Normal earningst
= [Earningst + (ρ − 1)dividendt−1] − ρEarningst−1
As cum-dividend earnings for the savings account in 2010 are $5.25, and as normal earnings
also are $5.25, abnormal earnings growth is zero. And so for years 2011 and beyond. We will
not pay for growth because, while we forecast growth, we do not forecast abnormal growth.
With these basic concepts in place, we now can move from the simple prototype to the
valuation of equities. Here is a summary of the concepts we carry with us:
1. An asset is worth more than its capitalized earnings only if it can grow cum-dividend
earnings at a rate greater than the required return. This recognizes that one pays only for
growth that adds value.
2. When forecasting earnings growth, one must focus on cum-dividend growth.
Ex-dividend growth ignores the value that comes from reinvesting dividends.
3. Dividend payout is irrelevant to valuation, for cum-dividend earnings growth is the
same irrespective of dividends.
Box 6.1 solves a riddle about earnings growth for the S&P 500.
The Normal Forward P/E Ratio
The forward P/E is price relative to the forecast of next year’s earnings. For the savings
account, the forward P/E ratio in 2008 is $100/$5 = 20. This is a particularly special P/E,
referred to as the normal forward P/E:
Normal forward P/E =
1
Required return
That is, the normal forward P/E is just $1 capitalized at the required return. For the savings
account, the forward P/E is 1/0.05 = 20.
The normal P/E embeds a principle that applies to all assets, including equities. If one
forecasts no abnormal earnings growth (as with the savings account), the forward P/E ratio
must be 1/required return. Or, put differently, if one expects the growth rate in cum-dividend
earnings to be equal to the required return, the forward P/E ratio must be normal. That is, a
normal P/E implies that normal earnings growth is expected. For a required (normal) return
of 10 percent, the normal forward P/E is 1/0.10, or 10. For a required return of 12 percent,
197
198
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
the normal forward P/E is 1/0.12 = 8.33. If one forecasts cum-dividend earnings to grow at
a rate greater than the required return, the P/E must be above normal: One pays extra for
growth above normal. If one forecasts cum-dividend earnings to grow at a rate lower than
the required return, the P/E ratio must be lower than normal: One discounts for low growth.
The Normal Trailing P/E Ratio
Chapter 3 distinguished the trailing P/E—the multiple of current earnings—from the
forward P/E—the multiple of earnings forecasted one year ahead. Having calculated the
value of the savings account from forecasts of forward earnings and earnings growth, calculating the trailing P/E is, of course, straightforward: Just divide the calculated value by the
earnings reported in the last income statement. But there is an adjustment to make.
For the savings account in Exhibit 6.1, the trailing year is 2008, suppose that $100
were invested in the account at the beginning of 2008 to earn 5 percent. Earnings for
2008 would be $5 and, if these earnings were paid out as dividends, the value of the account at the end of 2008 would still be $100. So it would appear that the trailing P/E is
$100/$5 = 20, the same as the forward P/E. However, this is incorrect. How could the
value of one more year of earnings be the same? Suppose the $5 earnings for 2008 were
not paid out, so that the value in the account was $105. The P/E ratio then becomes
$105/$5 = 21. The latter is the correct trailing P/E.
The amount that $1 of earnings is worth—the P/E multiple—should not depend on dividends. The $5 of earnings for a savings account produces $105 in value for the owner of
the account—the $100 at the beginning of the period that produced the earnings, plus the
$5 of earnings. If she leaves the earnings in the account, the owner has $105; if she withdraws the earnings, she still has $105, with $100 in the account and $5 in her wallet. The
trailing P/E is 21. Thus, the trailing P/E must always be based on cum-dividend prices:
Trailing P/E =
Price + Dividend
Earnings
This measure is the dividend-adjusted P/E introduced in Chapter 3. The adjustment is necessary because dividends reduce the price (in the numerator) but do not affect earnings
(in the denominator). The adjustment is not necessary for the forward P/E because both
prices and forward earnings are reduced by the current dividend. P/E ratios published in the
financial press do not make the adjustment for the trailing P/E. If the dividend is small, it
matters little, but for high-payout firms, published P/E ratios depend on dividends as well
as the ability of the firm to grow earnings.
Whereas the normal forward P/E is 1/Required return, the normal trailing P/E is
Normal trailing P/E =
(1 + Required return)
Required return
For the savings account, the normal trailing P/E is $1.05/$0.05 = 21 (compared with 20 for
the forward P/E). For a required return of 10 percent, the normal trailing P/E is
$1.10/$0.10 = 11 (compared with 10 for the forward P/E), and for a required return of
12 percent, it is $1.12/$0.12 = 9.33 (compared with 8.33 for the forward P/E). The normal
forward P/E and the normal trailing P/E always differ by 1.0, representing one current
dollar earning at the required return for an extra year.
Just as a normal forward P/E implies that forward earnings are expected to grow, cumdividend, at the required rate of return after the forward year, so a normal trailing P/E
implies that current earnings are expected to grow, cum-dividend, at the required rate of
return after the current year. So the trailing P/E for the savings account is 21 because the
expected cum-dividend earnings growth rate is the required rate of 5 percent.
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
199
A Poor P/E Model
The following model for valuing equities from forward earnings is quite common:
Value of equity =
Earn1
ρE − g
where g is (1 plus) the forecasted earnings growth rate. (You perhaps have seen this model with
the letter r used to indicate the required return rather than ρ.) The model looks as if it should
value earnings growth. The formula modifies the capitalized earnings formula (which worked
for a savings account) for growth; indeed, the model is simply the formula for a perpetuity with
growth that was introduced in Chapter 3. With this model, the forward P/E ratio is 1/(ρE − g).
This model is simple, but it is wrong. First, it is applied with forecasts of ex-dividend
growth rates rather than cum-dividend growth rates. Ex-dividend growth rates ignore
growth from reinvesting dividends. The higher the dividend payout, the higher the omitted
value calculated by the formula with ex-dividend growth rates. Second, the formula clearly
does not work when the earnings growth rate is greater than the required return, for then the
denominator is negative. For the savings account, the required return is 5 percent, but the
expected cum-dividend growth rate is also 5 percent, so the denominator of this formula is
zero (and the calculated value of the savings account is infinite!). For equities, the cumdividend growth rate is often higher than the required return, resulting in a negative
denominator: This is the case for the S&P 500 in Box 6.1, for example. A growth rate
slightly lower than the required return would have you paying a very high price—and overpaying for growth.
This is a poor model; it leads you into errors. The denominator problem is a mathematical problem, but behind this mathematical problem lurks a conceptual problem. We need a
valuation model that protects us from paying too much for growth.
A MODEL FOR ANCHORING VALUE ON EARNINGS
The prototype valuation of the savings account gives us an anchor: capitalized forward
earnings. It also indicates the anchoring principle:
Anchoring Principle: If one forecasts that cum-dividend earnings will grow at a rate equal to
the required rate of return, the asset’s value must be equal to its earnings capitalized.
Correspondingly, one adds extra value to the anchor if cum-dividend earnings are forecasted to grow at a rate greater than the required return: The asset must be worth more than
its earnings capitalized. Abnormal earnings growth is the metric that captures the extra
value, so the value of the equity for a going concern is
Value of equity = Capitalized forward earnings + Extra value for
abnormal cum-dividend earnings growth
V0E =
=
⎤
Earn1
1 ⎡ AEG 2 AEG3 AEG 4
+
+
+
+ L⎥
⎢
2
3
ρE − 1 ρE − 1 ⎣ ρE
ρE
ρE
⎦
⎤
1 ⎡
AEG 2 AEG3 AEG 4
+
+
+ L⎥ (6.2)
⎢Earn1 +
2
3
ρE − 1 ⎣
ρE
ρE
ρE
⎦
where AEG is abnormal (cum-dividend) earnings growth. (The ellipses indicate that forecasts continue on into the future, for equities are going concerns.) You see from the first
version of the formula here that the discounted value of abnormal earnings growth supplies
200
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
FIGURE 6.1 Calculation of Equity Value Using the Abnormal Earnings Growth Model
Abnormal earnings growth is the difference between cum-dividend earnings and normal earnings. The present value of
abnormal earnings growth for Year 2 and beyond is added to forward earnings for Year 1, and the total is then capitalized
to calculate equity value.
Abnormal earnings growtht = Cum-dividend earningst – Normal earningst
Cum-dividend earningst = Earningst + (ρE – 1) dividendt–1
Normal earningst = ρE Earningst–1
Forecasts
Year 1 ahead
Forward
earnings1
Year 2 ahead
Cumdividend
earnings2
Normal
earnings2
Abnormal
earnings2
Year 3 ahead
Cumdividend
earnings3
Normal
earnings3
Abnormal
earnings3
Year 4 ahead
Cumdividend
earnings4
Normal
earnings4
Abnormal
earnings4
+
PV of
AEG2
Discount by
+
PV of
AEG3
Discount by
2
+
PV of
AEG4
Discount by
3
+
–
–
+
Current
value
Capitalize
Total
earnings
plus
growth
the extra value over that from capitalized forward earnings. The discounting calculates the
value at the end of Year 1 of growth from Year 2 onward, and the value from growth is then
capitalized (to convert the value of flows to a stock of value). As both the value of growth and
forward earnings are capitalized, the second version of the formula simplifies the calculation.
So, to value a share, proceed through the following steps:
1. Forecast one-year-ahead earnings.
2. Forecast abnormal earnings growth (AEG) after the forward year (Year 1).
3. Calculate the present value (at the end of Year 1) of expected abnormal earnings growth
after the forward year.
4. Capitalize the total of forward earnings and the value of abnormal earnings growth.
Figure 6.1 directs you through these three steps. As with residual earnings valuation, earnings must be comprehensive earnings; otherwise, value is lost in the calculation. Simply
stated, the model says that value is based on future earnings, but with earnings from normal
growth subtracted.
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
201
The intrinsic forward P/E is obtained by dividing the value calculated by forward
earnings: VE0 /Earn1. If no abnormal earnings growth is forecasted,
V0E =
Earn1
ρE − 1
and the P/E is normal:
V0E
1
=
Earn1 ρ E − 1
This model is referred to as the abnormal earnings growth model, or the OhlsonJuettner model after its architects.1
Measuring Abnormal Earnings Growth
As for the savings account, abnormal earnings growth (AEG) is earnings (with dividends
reinvested) in excess of earnings growing at the required return:
Abnormal earnings growtht = Cum-dividend earnt − Normal earn t
= [Earn t + (ρE − 1)d t–1] − ρE Earn t−1
(6.3)
Calculations can be made on a per-share basis or on a total dollar basis. When working
on a per-share basis, dividends are dividends per share; when working on a total dollar
basis, dividends are net dividends (dividends plus share repurchases minus share issues).
Here are calculations of abnormal earnings growth for 2008 for two firms, Dell, Inc., and
Nike, Inc. The required return in both cases is 10 percent.
Dell, Inc.
EPS 2008
DPS 2007
Earnings on reinvested dividends
Cum-dividend earnings 2008
Normal earnings from 2007:
Dell: 1.15 × 1.10; Nike: 2.96 × 1.10
Abnormal earnings growth (AEG) 2008
Nike, Inc.
$1.33
$0.00
$3.80
$0.71
0.00
1.33
0.071
3.871
1.265
0.065
3.256
0.615
As Dell has no dividends, cum-dividend EPS is the same as reported EPS ($1.33). Nike
paid DPS of $0.71 in 2007, so cum-dividend EPS for 2008 is the reported EPS of $3.80
plus $0.071 from reinvesting the 2007 dividend at 10 percent. In both cases, normal earnings for 2008 is 2007 EPS growing at the “normal” rate of 10 percent.
Abnormal earnings growth can be expressed in terms of growth rates relative to required
return rates:
Abnormal earnings growtht = [Gt – ρE] × Earningst –1
(6.3a)
where Gt is 1 plus the cum-dividend earnings growth rate for the period. That is, AEG is the
dollar amount by which a prior year’s earnings grow, cum-dividend, relative to the required
rate. If Gt is equal to the required rate of return, there is no abnormal earnings growth. With
EPS of $1.33 for 2008 (and no dividends), Dell’s cum-dividend earnings growth rate was
1
See J. A. Ohlson and B. E. Juettner-Nauroth, “Expected EPS and EPS Growth as Determinants
of Value,” Review of Accounting Studies, July–September, 2005, pp. 347–364.
202
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
$1.33/1.15 = 15.65 percent (plus 1). So, with a required return of 10 percent, Dell’s AEG
for 2008 was $1.15 × (0.1565 − 0.10) = $0.065 per share, as before.
A Simple Demonstration and a Simple Valuation Model
Exhibit 6.2 applies the abnormal earnings growth model to the simple prototype firm used
in Chapter 5. This firm has a required return of 10 percent and its earnings are expected to
grow at 3 percent a year. A 3 percent growth rate looks low, but looks can be deceiving
because the firm has a high payout ratio (76 percent of earnings).
Based on the earnings and dividend forecasts and the future book values they imply,
residual earnings for the firm are forecasted to grow at a 3 percent rate, as indicated in the
exhibit. So the firm can be valued with a Case 3 residual earnings valuation by capitalizing
Year 1 residual earnings at this growth rate, as in Chapter 5:
V0E = 100 +
2.36
= 133.71 million
1.10 − 1.03
EXHIBIT 6.2 Forecasts for a Firm with Expected Earnings Growth of 3 Percent per Year
In millions of dollars. Required return is 10 percent per year.
Forecast Year
0
1
2
3
4
5
Residual earnings forecasts:
Earnings
Dividends
Book value
Residual earnings (RE)
RE growth rate
12.00
9.09
100.00
12.36
9.36
103.00
2.360
12.00
9.09
12.36
9.36
0.909
13.269
13.200
0.069
12.73
9.64
106.09
2.431
3%
13.11
9.93
109.27
2.504
3%
13.51
10.23
112.55
2.579
3%
13.91
10.54
115.92
2.656
3%
Abnormal earnings growth forecasts:
Earnings
Dividends
Earnings on reinvested dividends
Cum-dividend earnings
Normal earnings
Abnormal earnings growth (AEG)
Abnormal earnings growth rate
Cum-dividend earnings growth rate
Normal earnings growth rate
10.57%
10.0%
12.73
9.64
0.936
13.667
13.596
0.071
3%
10.57%
10.0%
13.11
9.93
0.964
14.077
14.004
0.073
3%
10.57%
10.0%
13.51
10.23
0.993
14.499
14.424
0.075
3%
10.57%
10.0%
13.91
10.53
1.023
14.934
14.857
0.077
3%
10.57%
10.0%
The Calculations:
Earnings on reinvested dividends refers to the prior year’s dividend earning at the required return. So,
for Year 2, earnings on reinvested dividends are 0.10 × 9.36 = 0.936.
Cum-dividend earnings adds earnings on reinvested dividends to the ex-dividend earnings forecasted. So,
cum-dividend earnings for Year 2 are 12.73 + (0.10 × 9.36) = 13.667.
Normal earnings is the prior year’s earnings growing at the required return. So, for Year 2, normal earnings are
12.36 × 1.10 = 13.596.
Abnormal earnings growth is cum-dividend earnings normal earnings. So, for Year 2, AEG = 13.667 −
13.596 = 0.071.
Abnormal earnings growth is also the prior year’s earnings multiplied by the spread between the cum-dividend
growth rate and the required rate. So, for Year 2, AEG is (1.1057 − 1.10) × 12.36 = 0.071.
Allow for rounding errors.
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
203
The exhibit also forecasts abnormal earnings growth (AEG), in order to apply the abnormal earnings growth model. Abnormal earnings growth each year is cum-dividend earnings less normal earnings. Calculations are described at the bottom of the exhibit using both
the equation 6.3 and 6.3a methods. You see that AEG is growing at 3 percent after Year 1.
So, the AEG for Year 2 can be capitalized with this growth rate:
V0E =
1 ⎡
0.071 ⎤
⎢12.36 +
⎥ = 133.71 million
0.10 ⎣
1.10 − 1.03 ⎦
(Allow for rounding errors.) This is a simple valuation model where growth at a constant
rate begins after the forward year. The forward P/E ratio is 133.71/12.36 = 10.82, higher
than the normal P/E of 10. You will notice at the bottom of the exhibit that the cumdividend earnings growth rate is 10.57 percent, higher than the required return of 10 percent, and accordingly the P/E ratio is greater than the normal P/E. You also will notice that
the cum-dividend earnings growth rate is considerably higher than the 3 percent rate forecasted for (ex-dividend) earnings.2 And you will notice that the RE model and the AEG
model give us the same valuation.
Anchoring Valuation on Current Earnings
The valuation in this example prices forward earnings so, strictly speaking, it anchors on
forecasted earnings rather than the current earnings in the financial statements. The value
can also be calculated by anchoring on current (trailing) earnings: Capitalize current earnings, and then add the value of forecasted AEG from Year 1 onward. That is, shift the
application of the model one period back in time. So, for the example in Exhibit 6.2,
V 0E + d 0 = 133.71 + 9.09 =
1.10 ⎡
0.069 ⎤
⎢12.00 +
⎥ = 142.80 million
0.10 ⎣
1.10 − 1.03 ⎦
The value obtained is the cum-dividend value (price plus dividend) appropriate for valuing
current earnings. The trailing P/E is $142.80/$12.00 = 11.90, higher than the normal trailing P/E of 11 (for a required return of 10 percent). The $12.00 here is earnings for Year 0
and the $0.069 is forecasted AEG for Year 1, which is expected to grow at a 3 percent rate.
The capitalization rate is 1.10/0.10, the normal trailing P/E, rather than 1/0.10, the normal
forward P/E. The formal model for the calculation is
V0E + d 0 =
⎤
ρE ⎡
AEG1 AEG 2 AEG3
+
+
+ L⎥
⎢Earn 0 +
2
3
ρE − 1 ⎣
ρE
ρE
ρE
⎦
(6.4)
Clearly, with no AEG after the current year, the trailing P/E is normal.
Anchoring valuation on current earnings anchors on actual earnings in the financial
statements rather than a forecast of earnings. However, there is a good reason to apply the
model to forward earnings rather than current earnings. As we will see when we come to
analyze financial statements, current earnings often contain nonsustainable components—
unusual events and one-time charges, for example—that do not bear on the future. By
focusing on forward earnings and using current earnings as a base for the forecast, we
2
Strictly, cum-dividend earnings for any year ahead are earnings for that year plus earnings from all
dividends paid and reinvested from Year 1 up to that year. So, for Year 3, cum-dividend earnings are
the $13.11 EPS for that year, plus the Year 2 dividend invested for one year, plus the earnings from the
reinvested Year 1 dividend. However, as dividends earn at the required return and earnings at the
required return are subtracted in the AEG calculation, it makes no difference to the valuation—and is
certainly simpler—if we just include the earnings on the prior year’s dividends in cum-dividend earnings.
204
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
effectively focus on the sustainable portion of current earnings that can grow. Indeed, the
financial statement analysis of Part Two of the book aims to identify sustainable earnings
that are a sound anchor for forecasting forward earnings.
The Web page for this chapter provides a spreadsheet to help you develop abnormal
earnings growth pro formas.
APPLYING THE MODEL TO EQUITIES
The example in Exhibit 6.2 is similar to our prototype savings account example, except that
this firm has some abnormal earnings growth whereas the savings account had none. The
firm is simple because AEG is forecasted to grow at a constant rate immediately after the
first year ahead. Model 6.2 requires infinite forecasting horizons, so, to value equities, we
need continuing values to truncate the forecast horizon. In the simple example, this occurs
just one year ahead.
There are two types of continuing value calculations. Case 1 applies when one expects
subsequent abnormal earnings growth at the forecast horizon to be zero. Case 2 applies
when one expects more abnormal earnings growth after the forecast horizon.
Case 1 is illustrated using General Electric Company with a required return of 10 percent.
The EPS and DPS numbers in Case 1 are GE’s actual numbers for 2000–2004, the same numbers used to value GE using residual earnings methods in the last chapter. As in the last chapter, we treat the numbers as forecasts and value GE’s shares at the end of 1999. Recall that we
attempted to value GE using discounted cash flow techniques in Chapter 4 but ran into difficulties. However, we found we could value it with residual earnings methods. The AEG valuation here produces the same $13.07 per share value as the RE valuation in Chapter 5.
The Case 1 valuation is based on a forecast that AEG will be zero after 2004. While the
analyst forecasts positive AEG for 2004, he notes that the average AEG is close to zero over
2001–2004 and so forecasts zero AEG subsequently. Zero AEG implies, of course, that cumdividend earnings are expected to grow after 2004 at the required rate of return, just like the
savings account. The total AEG over 2001–2004, discounted to the end of 2000, is $0.017
per share. Added to forward earnings for 2000 of $1.29 yields $1.307, which when capitalized at the 10 percent rate, yields the valuation of $13.07 per share. Now go to Box 6.2.
CASE 1
General Electric
Co. (GE)
In this case, abnormal
earnings growth is
expected to be zero
after 2004. Required
rate of return is
10 percent.
Forecast Year
1999
DPS
EPS
DPS reinvested (0.10 × DPSt−1)
Cum-dividend earnings
(EPS + DPS reinvested)
Normal earnings (1.10 × EPSt−1)
Abnormal earnings growth (AEG)
Discount rate (1.10t )
Present value of AEG
Total PV of AEG
Total earnings to be capitalized
Capitalization rate
1.307 ⎞
Value per share ⎛⎜
⎝ 0.10 ⎟⎠
Note: Allow for rounding errors.
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
0.57
1.29
0.66
1.38
0.057
0.73
1.42
0.066
0.77
1.50
0.073
0.82
1.60
0.077
1.437
1.419
0.018
1.100
0.016
1.486
1.518
−0.032
1.210
−0.026
1.573
1.562
0.011
1.331
0.008
1.677
1.650
0.027
1.464
0.018
0.017
1.307
0.10
13.07
Anchor on What You Know and Avoid Speculation 6.2
Fundamentalist principles (in Chapter 1) emphasize that we
should separate what we know from speculation and anchor
on what we know. This is particularly important when valuing
growth, for growth is speculative.
In Chapter 4, we pointed out that discounted cash flow
(DCF) analysis often puts a lot of the value into the continuing
value. This is problematic for the continuing value is the most
uncertain part of a valuation, dealing as it does with the long
term. For General Electric (GE) in Chapter 4, more than 100
percent of the valuation is in the continuing value. We would
much prefer a valuation method where the value comes from
the present (“what we know”) or the near-term future (what
we know with some confidence). We suggested that earnings
might supply some level of comfort.
Indeed, for General Electric in Case 1, the continuing value
at the forecast horizon, 2004, is zero, compared with more
than 100 percent in the DCF valuation. We valued GE with
five years of forecasts. We may have some uncertainty about
these forecasts—and would prefer a valuation based on one
or two years of forecasted earnings—but probably feel more
comfortable with this valuation than one that speculates
about a large continuing value.
The difference between DCF valuation and the valuation
here is, of course, the accounting: Cash accounting versus
accrual accounting. Accrual accounting brings the future
forward in time, leaving less value in a continuing value.
The residual earnings valuation for GE in Chapter 5 also
used accrual accounting, but the Case 2 valuation there has
a nonzero continuing value (in equation 5.5). Is it then the
case that AEG valuation gives us a more secure valuation
than an RE valuation? It does look like it, but in fact no. The
residual earnings valuation gives the same valuation as the
AEG valuation for the same forecast horizon. Forecasting
that RE will be a constant at the forecast horizon in a Case 2
residual earnings valuation is the same as forecasting that
AEG 0, for it is always the case that AEG change in RE.
By forecasting that RE will be positive but constant, we are
just forecasting that there will be value missing from the balance sheet. But there will be no added value for growth. See
Box 6.3.
If expected AEG
0, then the P/E is normal, as demonstrated with the savings account. So forecasting that GE will
have zero AEG in 2005 is equivalent to forecasting that its P/E
will be normal. (By 2008, GE’s P/E was approximately normal.
See Exercise E6.10.)
Proceed now to the valuation of Dell, Inc. You will see that
there is now a continuing value containing a growth speculation. In this case, we do not escape some speculation about
the long run. But we separate that speculation (in the continuing value) from what we are more confident about (in nearterm forecasts).
A Case 2 valuation is demonstrated using Dell, Inc., with a required rate of return of
11 percent. The EPS and DPS up to 2005 are the same as those in Chapter 5 where we valued the firm using residual earnings methods with a continuing value based on a forecast
that residual earnings after 2005 would grow at 6.5 percent. The EPS for 2006 here is that
which would result from this growth rate. Dell pays no dividends, so cum-dividend earnings are the same as earnings.
Case 2 differs from Case 1 because AEG is expected to continue to grow after the forecast horizon, so the valuation adds a continuing value that incorporates this growth. With
the forecasted AEG for 2006 expected to grow at a rate of 6.5 percent after 2006, the continuing value for Dell at the end of 2005 is 0.873 per share. Adding the present value of this
continuing value at the end of 2001 to the total present value of AEG up to the end of 2005
($−0.062) and the forward earnings for 2001 ($0.84) yields $1.354 of earnings to be capitalized, resulting in a value of $12.31 per share.
This is the same value calculated with residual earnings methods in Chapter 5. And it is
also the same as the value using forecasted changes in residual earnings in equation 6.1.
Indeed, you can see that the AEG for Dell here always equals the change in residual earnings given above in equation 6.1. As both are anchored on forward earnings, the two valuations must be the same. Go to Box 6.3 for a formal demonstration that RE AEG.
Converting Analysts’ Forecasts to a Valuation
In Chapter 5 we converted analysts’ forecasts for Nike to a valuation using residual earnings methods. Here we do the same for Google, Inc., the supplier of Web-based software,
205
206
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
CASE 2
Dell, Inc.
In this case, abnormal
earnings are expected
to grow at a 6.5 percent rate after 2005.
Required rate of return
is 11 percent.
Forecast Year
2000
DPS
EPS
DPS reinvested (0.11 × DPSt−1)
Cum-dividend earnings
Normal earnings (1.11 × EPSt−1)
Abnormal earnings growth
Discount rate (1.11t )
Present value of AEG
Total PV of AEG
Continuing value (CV)
PV of CV
Total earnings to be capitalized
Capitalization rate
⎛ 1.354 ⎞
Value per share ⎜
⎝ 0.11 ⎟⎠
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
0.0
0.84
0.0
0.48
0.00
0.48
0.932
−0.452
1.110
−0.408
0.0
0.82
0.00
0.82
0.533
0.287
1.232
0.233
0.0
1.03
0.00
1.03
0.910
0.120
1.368
0.088
0.0
1.18
0.00
1.18
1.143
0.037
1.518
0.025
0.0
1.35
0.00
1.349
1.310
0.039
0.84
−0.062
0.873
0.576
1.354
0.11
12.31
The continuing value calculation:
0.0393
= 0.873
1.11 − 1.065
0.873
Present value of CV =
= 0.576
1.5181
CV =
Note: Allow for rounding errors.
particularly Web search, whose revenues come largely from online advertising. In Table
6.1, analysts’ consensus EPS forecasts for 2008 and 2009 are entered, along with forecasts
for 2010–2012 from applying their intermediate-term (five-year) consensus growth rate to
the 2009 estimate.
The calculations in the table show that analysts are forecasting abnormal earnings
growth after the forward year, 2008. Analysts do not provide forecasts more than five years
ahead, so the continuing value here is based on a 4 percent long-term growth rate, the typical GDP growth rate. By doing so, we are refusing to speculate; we are relying on a historical average (“what we know”). The calculated value is $699.58 per share. Google traded
at $520 at the time, so this value is well in excess of the market’s valuation. What could be
wrong? Analysts’ five-year growth rates are typically optimistic, more so (probably) for this
hot stock. Alternatively, the market price is cheap. Or, could it be the case that the longterm growth rate of 4 percent here is too optimistic? We will return to these issues when we
reverse engineer the market price at the end of the chapter.
FEATURES OF THE ABNORMAL EARNINGS GROWTH MODEL
Box 6.4 lists the advantages and disadvantages of the abnormal earnings growth
model. Compare it to similar summaries for the dividend discount model (in Chapter 4),
the discounted cash flow model (in Chapter 4), and the residual earnings model (in
Chapter 5).
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
TABLE 6.1
Converting Analysts’
Forecasts to a
Valuation: Google,
Inc.
Analysts forecast EPS
two years ahead
($19.61 for 2008 and
$24.01 for 2009) and
also give a five-year
EPS growth rate of
28 percent. Forecasts
for 2010–2012 apply
this consensus growth
rate to the 2009
estimate. Google pays
no dividends. Required
rate of return is
12 percent, reflecting
Google’s high beta.
2007A 2008E
DPS
EPS
DPS reinvested (0.12 × DPSt−1)
Cum-dividend earnings
Normal earnings (1.12 × EPSt−1)
Abnormal earnings growth (AEG)
Discount rate (1.12t )
Present value of AEG
Total PV of AEG
Continuing value (CV)
PV of CV
Total earnings to be capitalized
Capitalization rate
⎛ 83.95 ⎞
Value per share ⎜
⎝ 0.12 ⎟⎠
0.0
19.61
207
2009E
2010E
2011E
2012E
0.0
24.01
0.0
24.01
21.96
2.05
1.12
1.830
0.0
30.73
0.0
30.73
26.89
3.84
1.254
3.061
0.0
39.34
0.0
39.34
34.42
4.92
1.405
3.502
0.0
50.35
0.0
50.35
44.06
6.29
1.574
3.996
12.39
81.77
51.95
83.95
0.12
$699.58
The continuing value calculation:
CV =
6.29 × 1.04
= 81.77
1.12 − 1.04
Present value of CV =
81.77
= 51.95
1.574
Note: Allow for rounding errors.
We have emphasized that AEG valuation, like the residual earnings valuation, protects
us from paying too much for earnings growth. In this section we will discuss some other
features of the model.
Buy Earnings
The abnormal earnings growth model adopts the perspective of “buying earnings.” It embodies the idea that the value of a firm is based on what it can earn. As earnings represent
value to be added from selling products and services in markets, the model anticipates
the value to be added from trading with customers, after matching revenues from those
customers with the values given up, in expenses, to generate the revenue.
The AEG model embraces the language of the analyst community. P/E ratios are more
often referred to than P/B ratios. Analysts talk of earnings and earning growth, not residual
earnings and residual earnings growth. So, converting an analyst’s forecast to a valuation is
more direct with this model than with the residual earnings model. (The language of the
(Wall) street does not recognize how dividends affect growth, however; analysts talk of
ex-dividend earnings growth rates, not cum-dividend rates.)
Abnormal Earnings Growth Valuation
and Residual Earnings Valuation
On the other hand, the AEG model does not give as much insight into the value creation
as the residual earnings model. Firms invest in assets and add value by employing these
Comparing the Abnormal Earnings Growth
Model with the Residual Earnings Model
The AEG model and the RE model look different but are really
quite similar. Both require forecasts of earnings and dividends,
although the RE model adds the extra mechanical step of calculating book value forecasts from these forecasts.
Structurally, the two models are similar. The RE starts with
book value as an anchor and then adds value by charging
forecasted earnings by the required return applied to book
value. The AEG model starts with capitalized earnings as an
anchor and then adds value by charging forecasted (cumdividend) earnings by the required return applied to prior
earnings, rather than book value.
This structural difference is just a different arrangement of
the inputs. A little algebra underscores the point. Abnormal
earnings growth can be written in a different form:
AEGt = [Earnt + (ρE – 1)dt−1] – ρEEarnt–1
= Earnt – Earnt–1 – (ρE – 1)(Earnt–1 – dt–1)
Using the stocks and flows equation for accounting for the
book value of equity (Chapter 2), Bt−1 = Bt−2 + Earnt−1 − dt−1,
so Earnt−1 − dt−1 = Bt−1 − Bt−2. Thus,
AEGt = Earnt − Earnt −1 – (ρE − 1)(Bt−1 – Bt–2)
= [Earnt − (ρE – 1)Bt–1] – [Earnt−1 − (ρE – 1)Bt–2]
= REt − REt−1
So, abnormal earnings growth is always equal to the change
in residual earnings. You can see this by comparing the
changes in residual earnings with the AEG for the prototype
firm in Exhibit 6.2:
Residual earnings
Change in residual
earnings
Abnormal earnings
growth
1
2
3
4
5
2.360
2.431
2.504
2.579
2.656
0.071
0.073
0.075
0.077
0.071
0.073
0.075
0.077
6.3
You can also see the equivalence by comparing the AEG for
Dell in the Case 2 valuation with the changes in RE in the Dell
valuation at the front of this chapter.
So, forecasting that there will be no abnormal earnings
growth is the same as forecasting that residual earnings will
not change. Or, as abnormal earnings growth of zero means
that (cum-dividend) earnings are growing at the required rate
of return, forecasting this normal growth rate is the same as
forecasting that residual earnings will not change. Correspondingly, forecasting cum-dividend earnings growth above
normal is the same as forecasting growth in residual earnings.
Accordingly, one set of forecasts gives us both valuations, as
the Case 2 valuation for Dell and the equivalent valuation
based on changes in residual earnings at the front of this
chapter demonstrate.
The rearrangement of the inputs leads to the different anchors and different definitions of adding value to the anchors.
Yet the underlying concepts are similar. AEG valuation enforces the point that a firm cannot add value from growing
earnings unless it grows earnings at a rate greater than the
required rate of return. Only then does it increase its P/E ratio.
But that is the same as saying that the firm must grow residual
earnings to increase its P/B ratio. That is, added value comes
from investing to earn a return greater than the required
return, and that added value has its manifestation in both
growth in residual earnings and growth in cum-dividend earnings over a normal growth rate.
In one sense, the AEG valuation is more convenient for one
does not have to worry about book values. However, the RE
model gives us more insight into the value creation (that produces growth) so is more useful when we come to analysis in
Part Two of the book.
assets in operations. The residual earnings (RE) model explicitly recognizes the investment in assets, then recognizes that value is added only if that return is greater that the
required return. The residual earnings model is a better lens on the business of generating value, the cycle of investment and return on investment. Accordingly, we have not
proposed the AEG model as a model for strategy analysis (as we did with the RE model),
for strategy analysis involves investment. The central question in strategy analysis is
whether the investment will add value. When we come to analysis in Part Two of the
book, we will focus on the RE model, for it provides more insight into value generation
within a business.
208
Abnormal Earnings Growth Valuation
6.4
ADVANTAGES
Easy to understand:
Investors think in terms of future earnings and earnings growth; investors buy earnings. Focuses
directly on the most common multiple used, the P/E ratio.
Uses accrual accounting: Embeds the properties of accrual accounting by which revenues are matched with expenses to
measure value added from selling products.
Versatility:
Can be used under a variety of accounting principles (Chapter 16).
Aligned with what
people forecast:
Analysts forecast earnings and earnings growth.
Forecast horizon:
Forecast horizons are typically shorter than those for DCF analysis and more value is typically
recognized in the immediate future. There is less reliance on continuing values.
Protection:
Protects from paying too much for growth.
DISADVANTAGES
Accounting complexity:
Requires an understanding of how accrual accounting works.
Concept complexity:
Requires an appreciation of the concept of cum-dividend earnings and abnormal earnings
growth.
Sensitive to the required As the value derives completely from forecasts that are capitalized at the required return, the
return estimate:
valuation is sensitive to the estimate used for the required return. Residual earnings valuations
derive partly from book value that does not involve a required return.
Use in analysis:
The residual earnings model provides better insight into the analysis of value creation and the
drivers of growth (in Part Two of the book).
Application to strategy:
Does not give an insight into the drivers of earnings growth, particularly balance sheet items;
therefore, it is not suited to strategy analysis.
Suspect accounting:
Relies on earnings numbers that can be suspect. Should be implemented along with an earnings
quality analysis. (Chapter 17).
Abnormal Earnings Growth Is Not Affected by Dividends,
Share Issues, or Share Repurchases
We saw in Chapter 5 that residual earnings valuation is not sensitive to expected dividend
payout or share issues and share repurchases. This is also the case with the AEG model.
With respect to dividends, you can prove this to yourself using the simple example in
Exhibit 6.2. Rather than paying a dividend, reinvest the dividends in the firm at the 10 percent rate. Subsequent earnings within the firm will increase by the amount of the reinvested
dividends. Cum-dividend earnings—the amount of earnings earned in the firm plus that
earned by reinvesting the dividends outside the firm—will be exactly the same as if the
shareholder reinvested the dividends in a personal account (as in the exhibit). AEG will not
change, nor will the valuation. (You also saw this with the savings account.) This simulates
the earnings for an investor who receives the dividend but uses the cash to buy the stock,
which is priced to yield a 10 percent required return. He effectively undoes the dividend,
with no effect on value. The same logic applies if the payouts in Exhibit 6.2 are from stock
repurchases rather than dividends.
Accounting Methods and Valuation
The residual earnings model accommodates different accounting principles. As we saw in
Chapter 5, this is because book values and earnings work together. Firms may create higher
future earnings by the accounting they choose, but to do so they must write down book
209
Abnormal Earnings Growth Valuations When
Earnings Are Created by Accounting
Exhibit 6.2 presented pro forma earnings and earnings
growth for valuing the equity of a prototype firm. Suppose
the manager of this firm has decided to create more earnings
for Year 1 by writing down inventory by $8 in Year 0. This
accounting adjustment changes the accounting numbers, but
it should not affect the value. Here is the revised pro forma:
Creating Earnings with Accounting: Modifying
Exhibit 6.2 for a Write-Down
6.5
Year 0 is
V0E =
1
0.10
⎡
⎤
8.729
0.073
⎢20.36 − 1.10 + 1.10 − 1.03 1.10⎥ = 133.71
⎣
⎦
This is the same as the value before the accounting
change. While forward Year 1 earnings have increased, the
higher earnings of $20.36 mean higher normal earnings for
Year 2 and consequently lower earnings growth of –$8.729.
The net effect is to leave the value unchanged.
Forecast Year
0
1
2
Earnings
4.00 20.36
12.73
Dividends
9.09
9.36
9.64
Book value
92.00 103.00 106.09
Earnings on
reinvested
dividends
0.936
Cum-dividend
earnings
13.667
Normal
earnings
22.396
Abnormal
earnings
growth
(8.729)
Abnormal
earnings
growth rate
3
4
5
13.11
13.51
13.91
9.93
10.23
10.54
109.27 112.55 115.92
0.964
0.993
1.023
14.077 14.499 14.934
14.004 14.424 14.857
0.073
0.075
3%
0.077
3%
EFFECT ON VALUATION
As a result of the $8 write-down, the $12 reported for Year 0
earnings is now $4 (and the book value is $92 instead of
$100). Correspondingly, Year 1 forward earnings increase by
$8 to $20.36 because cost of goods sold is lower by $8. Cumdividend earnings for Year 2 are not affected but, because
those earnings are now compared to normal earnings of
$22.396, on the high base of $20.36 for Year 1, abnormal
earnings growth for Year 2 is (a decline of) −$8.729. Subsequent years are unaffected. The AEG valuation at the end of
EFFECT ON P/E RATIOS
While valuations are not affected by accounting methods,
P/E ratios certainly are. The forward P/E for this firm is now
$133.71/$20.36 = 6.57, down from 10.82. The trailing
(dividend-adjusted) P/E is now ($133.71 + $9.09)/$4.00 =
35.70, up from 11.90. Shifting income from current earnings
to forward earnings increases the trailing P/E; there is now
more anticipated earnings growth next year and the P/E prices
growth. However, shifting income to the future decreases the
forward P/E—there is now less anticipated growth after the
forward year, and the value of the earnings (in the numerator)
does not change.
A LESSON FOR THE ANALYST
There is a lesson here. The diligent analyst distinguishes
growth that comes from accounting from growth that comes
from real business factors. If growth is induced by the accounting, he changes the P/E ratio, but he does not change
the valuation. Applying the AEG model (or indeed the residual
earnings model) protects him from making the mistake of
pricing earnings that are due to accounting methods.
We opened this chapter with the caveat that we do not
want to pay for growth that does not add value. We do
not want to pay for earnings growth from added investment
that earns only the required return. But we also do not want
to pay for growth that is created by accounting methods.
Using the residual earnings model or the abnormal earnings
growth model protects us from both dangers.
values. When the higher earnings are combined with the lower book values (in a residual
earnings valuation), value is unaffected.
The AEG model, at first glance, looks as if it might not have this feature. A manager can
create higher future earnings by writing down book values, and the AEG model values
future earnings without carrying book values as a correcting mechanism. We do not want
to pay for growth that does not add value, and accounting methods can create growth in
earnings that we do not want to pay for. As it happens, the AEG model, like the residual
earnings model, provides protection against paying for growth that is created by accounting. Box 6.5 explains.
210
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
211
Make sure you read the section titled “A Lesson for the Analyst” in Box 6.5. The trailing P/E indicates expected earnings from sales in the future relative to the earnings recognized from current sales. To measure the value added from sales, accounting methods
match expenses with revenues. If that matching underestimates current expenses (by
underestimating bad debts, for example), current earnings are higher. However, future
earnings are lower—earnings are “borrowed from the future.” Because more current earnings are recognized and less future earnings are expected (and value is not affected), the
trailing P/E is lower. With lower future earnings, the forward P/E is higher. The converse is
true if a firm recognizes more expenses in current earnings.
REVERSE ENGINEERING THE MODEL FOR ACTIVE INVESTING
Like the residual earnings model, the AEG model can be reverse engineered to discover
the market’s expections. Consider the simple example in Exhibit 6.2, where a value
of $133.71 million was calculated. Suppose that the equity for this firm were trading at
$133.71 million and you forecast one-year-ahead earnings of $12.36 million, and two-yearahead earnings of $12.73 million. With a 10 percent required return, these forecasts imply
AEG of $0.071 for two years ahead, as in the exhibit. Reverse engineering sets up the
following problem and solves for g:
P0 = $133.71 million =
1 ⎡
0.071 ⎤
⎢12.36 +
⎥
0.10 ⎣
1.10 − g ⎦
With a value of $133.71 million, g = 1.03. You have converted the market price into a
forecast: the market’s implied abnormal earnings growth rate is 3 percent. You have done
so by reverse engineering the AEG model. Rather than forecasting a growth rate and
converting that forecast to a valuation, you have converted the market’s valuation into a
forecast of the growth rate. The simple valuation model serves as a tool.
Suppose now that the equity were trading at $147.2 million. We would then calculate
g = 1.07 (rounded). You have reverse engineered the residual earnings model to conclude that
the market is forecasting an abnormal earnings growth rate of 7 percent per year. If, as a result
of an analysis of the firm, you conclude that the growth rate can be no higher than 3 percent,
you would conclude that the market price of $147.2 million is too high: sell. But you might
also turn the analysis on yourself: Is there something the market knows that I don’t know?
Reverse engineering can also extract the implied expected return. Suppose you were
very firm in your belief that the growth rate can be no higher than 3 percent. Then you can
set up the following problem and solve for ρ:
P0 = $147.2 million =
1 ⎡
AEG 2 ⎤
⎢12.36 +
⎥
ρ −1⎣
ρ − 1.03 ⎦
AEG2 involves the required return for reinvesting dividends, so set AEG2 = [12.73 +
(ρ − 1) × 9.36] − (ρ × 12.36). The reverse-engineered amount for ρ is 1.0936; that is, the
market is forecasting a 9.36 percent rate of return from buying this stock. This is the market’s implied expected return. If you require 10 percent, you would say the stock is too expensive. The formula for reverse engineering the expected return looks a little complicated,
but there are just a few numbers to plug in:
− 1 = A + A2 +
⎞
Earn1 ⎛ Earn 2 − Earn1
×⎜
− ( g − 1)
P0
Earn1
⎠
⎝
(6.5)
212
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
where
A=
Div1 ⎞
1⎛
⎜g −1+
⎟
2⎝
P0 ⎠
Rather than screening stocks on the too-simple P/E ratio, the active investor might
screen stocks on these implied expected returns: Buy stocks with high expected returns and
sell those with low expected returns. This requires some analysis, of course, for we must
have some sense of the AEG growth rate. Part Two of the book builds the analysis.
Reverse Engineering the S&P 500
At the end of 2003, the S&P 500 index stood at 1000. The chief economist of a leading Wall
Street investment bank was forecasting 2004 earnings for the S&P stocks of $53.00 and
$58.20 for 2005. These earnings estimates are in the same units as the index, so the economist’s forward P/E ratio for the index was $1,000/$53 = 18.87. The payout ratio for the S&P
500 was 31 percent at the time and the economist estimated a market risk premium of
5 percent over the 10-year Treasury rate of 4 percent.
With a beta of 1.0 for this market portfolio, these rates imply a CAPM required return
of 9 percent. The normal forward P/E for a 9 percent required return is 1/0.09 = 11.11, so
the market, with a P/E of 18.87, is expecting some abnormal earnings growth. The payout
ratio implies expected dividends of $53 × 0.31 = $16.43 in 2004, and with the reinvestment
of this dividend at the 9 percent rate, expected abnormal earnings growth for 2005 is
$1.909, as follows:
Earnings
Dividends (31% payout)
Reinvested dividends at 9%
Cum-dividend earnings
Normal earnings ($53 × 1.09)
AEG
2004
2005
$53.00
16.43
$58.20
1.479
$59.679
57.770
$ 1.909
With these ingredients, we are ready to reverse engineer:
P2003 = 1, 000 =
1 ⎡
1.909 ⎤
⎢53.00 +
⎥
0.09 ⎣
1.09 − g ⎦
The solution for g is 1.039, that is, a 3.9 percent growth rate. This is close to the typical
GDP growth rate so, if we accept that the long-term growth rate for this market portfolio
should be about the same as the GDP growth rate, we would conclude the S&P 500 stocks
were reasonably priced at an index level of 1000 at the end of 2003.
Using Analysts’ Forecasts in Reverse Engineering
In Table 6.1 we converted analysts’ consensus EPS forecasts for Google into a valuation.
We were unsure as to what growth rate to use in the continuing value, so we just used the
GDP growth rate. Reverse engineering allows us to assess what growth rate the market is
using. As analysts’ five-year growth rates are unreliable, we use only the forecasts for two
years ahead in this exercise. EPS forecasts were $19.61 for 2008 and $24.01 for 2009, and
the AEG for 2009, calculated in Table 6.1, is $2.05. Google’s shares traded at $520 at
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
213
the time. The reverse engineering problem (with a required return of 12 percent) runs as
follows:
P2007 = $520 =
1 ⎡
2.05 ⎤
19.61 +
0.12 ⎢⎣
1.12 − g ⎥⎦
The solution for g is 1.0721; that is, the market is forecasting a growth rate of (approximately) 7.2 percent after 2009. You will remember that, using analysts’ five-year growth
rate in Table 6.1, we obtained a value of $699.58 per share with analysts forecasting an EPS
growth rate of 28 percent. Clearly the market is forecasting less growth than analysts. Having now understood the market’s forecast, we can challenge the price by challenging that
forecast: Is a growth rate of 7.2 percent for Google too high? To answer that question, we
will have to do some further analysis (in Part Two of the book).
Implied Earnings Forecasts and Earning Growth Rates
AEG growth rates are a little difficult to conceptualize, but can be converted into earnings
and earning growth forecasts by reverse engineering the AEG calculation:
Earnings forecast = Normal earnings forecast + AEG forecast
− Forecast of earnings from prior year’s dividends
(6.6)
The market’s AEG growth rate for Google is 7.2 percent. So, the market is forecasting AEG
for 2010 of $2.198, that is, the AEG of $2.05 for 2009 growing at 7.2 percent. Normal earnings for 2010 are the forecasted 2009 earnings of $24.01 growing at the required return of
12 percent, that is, $24.01 1.12 $26.89. As there are no dividends, forecasted earnings
for 2010 are $26.89 2.198 $29.09, and the forecasted EPS growth rate for 2010 is
$29.09/$24.01 21.2 percent.
Continuing the calculations for subsequent years, one gets the sequence of the implied EPS
growth rates in Figure 6.2. If, as a result of an analysis, you forecast growth rates above those
here, you are in the “buy” zone. If you forecast lower growth rates, you are in the “sell” zone.
SEPARATING SPECULATION FROM WHAT WE KNOW:
VALUE BUILDING BLOCKS
Just as we deconstructed residual earnings valuation into a set of building blocks (in
Chapter 5), so can we deconstruct abnormal earnings growth valuation. Figure 6.3 depicts
the building blocks that build to Google’s market price of $520.
The first component is capitalized forward earnings—constituting $19.61/0.12 =
$163.42 of Google’s value. We are usually relatively sure about this part of the valuation.
The second component is the added value from AEG for two years ahead, capitalized as
a perpetuity. For Google, this is the $2.05 of forecasted AEG valued as a perpetuity. This
block adds $142.36 to Google’s value, giving a total for blocks 1 and 2 of $305.78.
The third component captures value from the markets speculation about long-term
growth in AEG, a component we are usually less sure about. Analysts’ forecasts in Table 6.1
added considerable value for this component, but we see that the market (with a price of
$520) assigns $214.22.
What does the building block diagram tell us? Importantly, it separates the speculative
component of price in block 3 from the blocks 1 and 2 components about which we are
more certain; following the fundamentalist dictum, it separates “what we know” (or feel
comfortable with) from speculation. The analyst not only understands where the most uncertainty in the valuation lies, but also identifies the speculative component 3 that has to be
challenged to justify the current market price. He or she then brings sound analysis to
214
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
FIGURE 6.2 Plotting the Market’s Implied EPS Growth Rates: Google, Inc.
The market’s implied forecast of EPS growth rates, obtained by reverse engineering, are plotted
for 2010–2014. The growth rate for 2009 is analysts’ two-year-ahead growth rate from their EPS
estimates for 2008 and 2009. Growth rates forecasted above the line imply buying the stock.
Growth rates forecasted below the line imply selling.
23.00%
22.4%
22.00%
EPS Growth Rate
21.2%
BUY
21.00%
20.1%
20.00%
SELL
19.2%
19.00%
18.5%
17.9%
18.00%
17.00%
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
FIGURE 6.3 Building Blocks of an Abnormal Earnings Growth Valuation: Google, Inc.
The building blocks distinguish components of a valuation about which the analyst is reasonably
sure from more speculative components: (1) value from capitalized forward earnings, about which
one is reasonably certain; (2) value from capitalizing two-year-ahead abnormal earnings growth;
and (3) value from forecasts of long-term growth, the most speculative part of the valuation.
$520
Current market value
Value per Share
$214.22
$305.78
$142.36
$163.42
Capitalized
forward
earnings
(1)
Book values
(2)
Value from
short-term
forecasts
(3)
Value from
long-term
forecasts
challenge the speculative EPS growth rates underlying the third component (like those in
Figure 6.2). For this analysis, we turn to Part Two of the book.
P/E SCREENING
Screening on Earnings Yield
Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank during the 1990s, was known for
his statements regarding the “irrational exuberance” of the stock market. According to
Barron’s, he used an earnings yield screen. See Box 6.6.
The Fed Model
From an article in Barron’s in 1998.
Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan hasn’t said much about the
stock market this year, but his favorite valuation model is just
about screaming a sell signal. The so-called Greenspan model
(or Fed model) was brought to our attention last summer
by Edward Yardeni, economist at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell,
who found it buried in the back pages of a Fed report. The
model’s very presence in such a report was noteworthy because the Fed officials normally don’t tip their hand about
their views on the stock market. The model surfaced at a particularly interesting time: Stocks were near a high point, and
the Greenspan model indicated that the market was about
20 percent higher than it should have been.
That turned out to be a pretty good call. By October 1998,
stocks had fallen as much as 15 percent from their summer
high point. By year-end, of course, the Dow had recovered to
around 7900, but it still remained about 5 percent below its
peak for the year.
Now that the Dow has climbed above 8600, Greenspan’s
model is again flashing a warning signal. To be exact, the
6.6
Greenspan model now indicates that stocks are 18 percent
overvalued.
The Fed’s model arrives at its conclusions by comparing the
yield on the 10-year Treasury note to the price-to-earnings
ratio of the S&P 500 based on expected operating earnings in
the coming 12 months. To put stocks and bonds on the same
footing, the model uses the earnings yield on stocks, which
is the inverse of the (forward) P/E ratio. So while the yield
on the 10-year Treasury is now 5.60 percent, the earnings
yield on the S&P 500, based on a (forward) P/E ratio of 21, is
4.75 percent.
In essence, the Fed’s model asks, Why would anyone buy
stocks with a 4.75 percent earnings return, when they could
get a bond with a 5.60 percent yield?
The Fed’s model suggests the S&P should be trading
around 900, well under its current level of 1070.
Source: “Is Alan Addled? ‘Greenspan Model’ Indicates Stocks
Today Are Overvalued by About 18%,” Barron’s, March 16, 1998,
p. 21.
The “Greenspan model” or the “Fed model” compares the expected earnings yield with
the 10-year Treasury yield to assess whether stocks are overpriced. The expected earnings
yield, measured as forward earnings/price, is just the inverse of the forward P/E ratio, so an
earnings yield of 4.75 percent (at the time of the newspaper report) implies a forward P/E
of 21.05. A Treasury yield of 5.60 percent implies a forward P/E of 17.86. The Fed model
says that stocks are likely to be overpriced when the forward P/E for stocks rises above the
P/E for Treasury notes. Is this a good screen?
Is the Fed model not well calibrated? One expects the forward P/E for stocks to be different from that for bonds because stocks and bonds have different risk and thus different
required returns. The forward P/E of 17.86 for a bond is the normal P/E for a required
return of 5.60 percent. Stocks are more risky; if the required return is 10 percent, the normal P/E is 10, considerably less than the P/E for a riskless government bond. However, P/E
ratios also incorporate growth, and the Fed model does not explicitly build in growth after
the forward year. A bond has no abnormal earnings growth (it is similar to a savings account), so the normal P/E is the appropriate P/E. But stocks with a normal P/E of 10 could
be worth a P/E of 21 if abnormal earnings growth is anticipated after the forward year.
Without forecasts of subsequent earnings, the P/E of 21 cannot be challenged effectively.
The Fed model asks: Why would anyone buy stocks with a 4.75 percent earnings return,
when they could get a bond with a 5.60 percent yield? Well, they would do so if they saw
growth that they were willing to pay for. An earnings yield screen is too simplistic.
The two errors in applying the Fed model—ignoring differences in risk and expected
growth—work in the opposite direction. Stocks should have a lower P/E because they are
more risky, but they should have a higher P/E if they can deliver growth. By demanding that
stocks have an earnings yield no less than the yield on Treasury notes, the model is saying
that growth can never be high enough to compensate for the error of treating stocks as riskless securities like Treasury notes.
But we have to be careful; risk could indeed compensate for growth. We are really not
sure what the risk premium for stocks should be, and perhaps more growth means more risk.
215
P/E Ratios and Interest Rates
As P/E ratios involve the capitalization of earnings by the required return, and as the required return varies as interest
rates change, P/E ratios should be lower in periods of high
interest rates and higher in times of low interest rates. Correspondingly, earnings yields should be higher in times of high
interest rates and lower in times of low interest rates. The
figure below indicates that P/E ratios and interest rates have
moved in the opposite directions in recent history.
When interest rates on government obligations were high
in the late 1970s and early 1980s, P/Es were low; when inter-
6.7
est rates were relatively low in the 1990s, P/Es were relatively
high. But the relationship between P/E and interest rates is not
strong. This is because expectations of future earnings growth
are more important in determining the P/E than changes in
interest rates.
Of course we must be cautious in our interpretations because the market may have been inefficient at times in pricing
earnings. Were P/E ratios too low in the 1970s? Too high in
the 1990s? Was the market underestimating future earnings
growth in the 1970s and overestimating it in the 1990s?
Median P/E Ratios and Interest Rates (in Percentages) on One-Year Treasury Bills
20
Interest rate
P/E ratio
Price-to-Earnings Ratio and Interest Rates
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
2003
2001
1999
1997
1995
1993
1991
1989
1987
1985
1983
1981
1979
1977
1975
1973
1971
1969
1967
1965
1963
0
Source: P/E ratios were calculated from Standard & Poor’s COMPUSTAT ® data. Interest rates are from the Federal Reserve Statistics
Release (www.federalreserve.gov).
We could modify the Fed model for expected growth, but if growth is risky, we would also
have to modify the required return. High P/E stocks (with growth) tend to be high beta
stocks. Always beware of paying too much for risky growth. Return to Box 5.6 in Chapter 5
for a discussion of this issue. It is one we will return to.
The comparison of earnings yields to Treasury rates does remind us that earnings yields
and P/E ratios should change as interest rates change. See Box 6.7.
Screening on PEG Ratios
In recent years, the PEG ratio has come into prominence. The PEG (P/E-to-earningsgrowth) ratio compares the P/E ratio to a forecast of percentage earnings growth rate in the
following year:
PEG ratio =
216
P/E
1-year-ahead percentage earnings growth
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
217
The P/E in the numerator is usually the forward P/E, but sometimes the trailing P/E is used.
If the forward P/E is used, the appropriate measure of growth in the denominator of the
PEG ratio is the forecasted one-year growth after the forward year, that is, growth for two
years ahead. The ratio compares the traded P/E, the market’s assessment of earnings growth
after the forward year, with actual growth forecasts. Analysts’ growth forecasts are typically used. If the ratio is less than 1.0, the screener concludes that the market is underestimating earnings growth. If it is greater than 1.0, the screener concludes that the market is
too optimistic about growth. With a forward P/E of $520/$19.61 = 26.5 in 2008 and a forecasted two-year-ahead growth rate of 22.4 percent, Google’s PEG ratio was 1.18.
The benchmark PEG ratio of 1.0 is consistent with the ideas in this chapter. If the
required return for a stock is 10 percent (and thus the forward P/E is 10), the market is pricing the stock correctly if earnings are expected to grow (cum-dividend) at the required rate
of 10 percent. If an analyst indeed forecasts a growth rate of 10 percent after the forward
year, the PEG ratio is 10/10 = 1.0. (Note that the growth rate is in percentage terms.) If,
however, an analyst forecasts a growth rate of 15 percent, the PEG ratio is 10/15 = 0.67 and
the analyst questions whether, at a P/E of 10, the market is underpricing expected growth.
Caution is called for in screening on PEG ratios. First, the benchmark of 1.0 applies only
for a required return of 10 percent. If the required return is 12 percent, the normal P/E
is 8.33 which, when divided by normal growth of 12 percent, yields a benchmark PEG of
0.69. Second, standard calculations (incorrectly) use the forecasted growth rate in exdividend earnings rather than the cum-dividend rate. Third, screening on just one year of
anticipated growth ignores information about subsequent growth.
For this reason, some calculations of the PEG ratio use annualized five-year growth rates
in the denominator. In 2002, Ford Motor Company’s shares traded at $7.20 each on analysts’ consensus forecast of forward EPS of $0.43, giving a P/E of 16.7. Analysts were forecasting $0.65 in per-share earnings for two years ahead. As the firm indicated 40 cents
per-share dividends in 2002, the cum-dividend forecast for two years ahead was $0.69, assuming a required return of 10 percent. Thus the anticipated cum-dividend growth rate for
two years ahead was 60.5 percent, and Ford’s PEG ratio was 16.7/60.5 = 0.28. This PEG ratio
indicates that Ford was underpriced. But the two-year-ahead growth rate is probably due
to the fact that the forward year was a particularly bad year for Ford. Ford would not be able
to maintain a 60 percent growth rate into the future (and certainly did not). Indeed, analysts
at the time were forecasting only an average 5 percent annual growth rate over the next five
years. Using this growth rate in the denominator of the PEG ratio yields a ratio of 3.3.
Summary
The valuation methods in this chapter complement those in Chapter 5. They yield intrinsic
P/E ratios rather than P/B ratios. Rather than anchoring valuation on book value, the methods here anchor valuation on earnings. However, the form of the valuation is similar. With
P/B valuation, one adds value to book value for earnings in excess of normal earnings (at
the required return) on book value; with P/E valuation, one adds value to capitalized earnings for earnings in excess of normal earnings (at the required return) on prior earnings.
Abnormal earnings growth—earnings growth in excess of normal earnings growth—is
the central concept for the valuation. This concept, in turn, requires an appreciation that,
when the analyst focuses on earnings growth, she must focus on cum-dividend earnings
growth because future earnings involve not only earnings earned in the firm but also earnings from reinvesting any dividends to be received.
As with residual earnings valuation, the application of the methods in this chapter
protects the investor from paying too much for earnings. These methods also protect the
investor from paying for earnings created by accounting methods. And, as with residual
earnings, the abnormal earnings growth model facilitates reverse engineering: The analyst
can deduce earnings forecasts and expected returns implicit in stock market prices.
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Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
The Web Connection
Find the following on the Web page for this chapter:
• Further examples of reverse engineering.
• Further applications of abnormal earnings growth
valuation.
• A further demonstration that AEG valuation and residual earnings valuation yield the same value.
• A spreadsheet program to help you develop abnormal
earnings growth pro formas and valuations.
• The Readers’ Corner points you to further reading.
Key Concepts
abnormal earnings growth is earnings
growth in excess of growth at a rate equal
to the required return. Compare with
normal earnings growth. 197
cum-dividend earnings are earnings
that include earnings on prior dividends
paid. Compare with ex-dividend
earnings. 196
ex-dividend earnings are earnings without
consideration to the earnings that can be
earned on dividends. Compare with
cum-dividend earnings. 196
implied abnormal earnings growth rate
is the growth rate for abnormal earnings
implied by the current market price. 211
implied earnings forecast is a forecast
that is implicit in the market price of a
stock. 213
implied expected return is the expected
rate of return from investing at the
current market price. 211
normal earnings growth is earnings
growth at a rate equal to the required
return. 196
normal forward P/E is a price-earnings
ratio that is appropriate when earnings
are expected to grow (cum-dividend)
after the forward year at a rate equal to
the required return; that is, normal
earnings growth is expected. 197
normal trailing P/E is a price-earnings
ratio that is appropriate when earnings
are expected to grow (cum-dividend)
after the current year at a rate equal to the
required return. 198
The Analyst’s Toolkit
Analysis Tools
Abnormal earnings growth
model (6.2)
Case 1
Case 2
Normal forward P/E
Normal trailing P/E
Abnormal earnings
growth (6.3), (6.3a)
Trailing P/E model (6.4)
Converting an analyst’s
forecast to a valuation
Page
199
204
206
197
198
201
203
205
Key Measures
Page
Acronyms to Remember
Abnormal earnings growth
Continuing value
Case 1
Case 2
Cum-dividend earnings
Earnings yield
Ex-dividend earnings
Forward P/E ratio
Implied abnormal earnings
growth rate
201
AEG abnormal earnings growth
EPS earnings per share
DPS dividends per share
GDP gross domestic product
PEG price-to-earnings growth
RE
residual earnings
204
206
196
214
196
201
211
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
219
The Analyst’s Toolkit (concluded)
Analysis Tools
Page
Reverse engineering the
abnormal earnings
valuation model
—for implicit growth rates
—for expected returns
Valuation building blocks
PEG ratio
211
211
211
213
216
Key Measures
Page
Normal earnings
Normal forward P/E ratio
Normal trailing P/E ratio
Implied earnings growth rate
Implied expected returns
PEG ratio
196
197
198
213
211
216
Acronyms to Remember
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
A Self-Study Exercise
CONVERTING ANALYSTS’ FORECASTS
TO A VALUATION
In the Kimberly-Clark case for Chapter 5, you were asked to convert analysts’ earnings
forecasts into a valuation using residual earnings methods. You can now do the same using
abnormal earnings growth methods. Exhibit 1.1 in Chapter 1 gives consensus analysts’
forecasts made in March 2005 when the stock price stood at $64.81 per share. These earnings forecasts are in the form of point estimates for 2005 and 2006 and an estimated fiveyear growth rate. KMB paid an annual dividend per share of $1.60 in 2004 and a dividend
of $1.80 per share was indicated for 2005 at the time.
Calculate the forward P/E ratio. Also, using information in the 2004 financial statements
in Exhibit 2.2 in Chapter 2, calculate the trailing P/E in March 2005.
With a five-year growth rate, you can forecast analysts’ EPS estimates for the years
2005–2009. Do this and, from these forecasts, pro forma the corresponding abnormal earnings growth. Use a required return for equity of 8.9% for the calculations.
Now go ahead and value KMB’s shares from this pro forma. You might adapt the spreadsheet engine on the Web page for this chapter to make this valuation. Assume a long-term
growth rate after the five-year forecast period of 4%, roughly equal to the average GDP
growth rate. What is your intrinsic forward P/E ratio? What is your intrinsic trailing P/E ratio?
Did you get the same value as in the residual earnings application in the last chapter?
Reverse Engineering
Working only from the analysts’ forecasts for 2005 and 2006, find out what is the market’s
implied rate for abnormal earnings growth after 2006. What are the earnings per share and
EPS growth rates that the market is forecasting for the years 2007–2010? You might plot
those growth rates, just as in Figure 6.2. If you are handy with spreadsheets, you might
build a program to do this.
Understanding Your Uncertainty
Assemble a building block diagram like that in Figure 6.3. What part of the valuation are
you most uncertain about?
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Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
Using Spreadsheet Tools
As in the continuing case for Chapter 5, you can experiment with spreadsheet tools that
carry out a valuation. Look at the engine on the Web page supplement for this chapter.
Concept
Questions
C6.1. Explain why analysts’ forecasts of earnings-per-share growth typically underestimate the growth that an investor values if a firm pays dividends.
C6.2. The historical earnings growth rate for the S&P 500 companies has been about
8.5 percent. Yet the required growth rate for equity investors is considered to be
about 12 percent. Can you explain the inconsistency?
C6.3. The following formula is often used to value shares, where Earn1 is forward earnings, r is the cost of capital, and g is the expected earnings growth rate.
Value of equity =
Earn1
r−g
Explain why this formula can lead to errors.
C6.4. A firm’s earnings are expected to grow at a rate equal to the required rate of return for
its equity, 12 percent. What is the trailing P/E ratio? What is the forward P/E ratio?
C6.5. The normal forward P/E and the normal trailing P/E always differ by 1.0. Explain
the difference.
C6.6. Explain why, for purposes of equity valuation, earnings growth forecasts must be
for cum-dividend earnings growth, yet neither cum-dividend growth rates nor valuation are affected by expected dividends.
C6.7. Abnormal earnings growth is always equal to growth of (change in) residual earnings. Correct?
C6.8. A P/E ratio for a bond is always less than that for a stock. Correct?
C6.9. In an equity research report, an analyst calculates a forward earnings yield of 12 percent. Noting that this yield is considerably higher than the 7 percent yield on a
10-year Treasury, she heads her report with a buy recommendation. Could she be
making a mistake?
C6.10. How do you interpret a PEG ratio?
C6.11. Look at Figure 2.3 in Chapter 2, which tracks median P/E ratios from 1963 to 2003.
Explain why P/E ratios were low in the 1970s and high in the 1960s and 1990s.
C6.12. The earnings-to-price ratio for the S&P 500 stocks declined significantly from the
late 1970s to the late 1990s. As this ratio is a “return” per dollar of price, some
claimed that the decline indicated that the required return for equity investing had
declined, and they attributed the increase in stock prices over the period to the decline in the required return. Why is this reasoning suspect?
C6.13. Why might an analyst refer to a leading (forward) P/E ratio rather than a trailing
P/E ratio?
C6.14. Can a firm increase its earnings growth yet not affect the value of its equity?
Exercises
Drill Exercises
E6.1.
Forecasting Earnings Growth and Abnormal Earnings Growth (Easy)
The following are earnings and dividend forecasts made at the end of 2008. The firm has a
required equity return of 10 percent per year.
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
EPS
DPS
2009
2010
2011
3.00
0.25
3.60
0.25
4.10
0.30
221
a. Forecast the ex-dividend earnings growth rate and the cum-dividend earnings growth
rate for 2010 and 2011.
b. Forecast abnormal earnings growth for 2010 and 2011.
c. Calculate the normal forward P/E for this firm.
d. Based on your forecasts, do you think this firm will have a forward P/E greater than its
normal P/E? Why?
E6.2.
P/E Ratios for a Savings Account (Easy)
Suppose you own a savings account that earned $10 over the past year. Your only transaction in the account has been to withdraw $3 on the last day of this 12-month period. The
account bears an interest rate of 4 percent per year.
a. What is the value of the account after the $3 withdrawal?
b. What is the trailing P/E and forward P/E for this account?
E6.3.
Valuation From Forecasting Abnormal Earnings Growth (Easy)
An analyst presents you with the following pro forma (in millions of dollars). The pro
forma gives her forecasts of earnings and dividends for 2010–2014. She asks you to value
the 1,380 million shares outstanding at the end of 2009. Use a required return for equity of
10 percent in your calculations. (This is the same pro forma that was used for a residual
earnings valuation in Exercise E5.3.)
Earnings
Dividends
2010E
2011E
2012E
2013E
2014E
388.0
115.0
570.0
160.0
599.0
349.0
629.0
367.0
660.45
385.40
a. Forecast growth rates for earnings and cum-dividend earnings for each year,
2011–2014.
b. Forecast abnormal earnings growth for each of the years 2011–2014.
c. Calculate the per-share value of the equity at the end of 2009 from this pro forma.
Would you call this a Case 1 or Case 2 abnormal earnings growth valuation?
d. What is the forward P/E ratio for this firm? What is the normal forward P/E?
E6.4.
Abnormal Earnings Growth Valuation and Target Prices (Medium)
The following forecasts of earnings per share (EPS) and dividend per share (DPS) were
made at the end of 2009:
EPS
DPS
2010E
2011E
2012E
2013E
2014E
3.90
1.00
3.70
1.00
3.31
1.00
3.59
1.00
3.90
1.00
The firm has an equity cost of capital of 12 percent per annum. (This is the same pro forma
used in the residual earnings valuation in Exercise E5.4.)
a. Calculate the abnormal earnings growth that is forecast for each year, 2011 to 2014.
b. What is the per-share value of the equity at the end of 2009 based on the abnormal
earnings growth valuation model?
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Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
c. What is the expected trailing P/E for 2014?
d. What is the forecasted per-share value of the equity at the end of the year 2014?
E6.5.
Dividend Displacement and Value (Medium)
Two firms, A and B, which have very similar operations, have the same book value of 100
at the end of 2009 and their cost of capital is 11 percent. Both are forecast to have earnings
of $16.60 in 2010. Firm A, which has 60 percent dividend payout, is forecast to have earnings of $17.80 in 2011. Firm B has zero payout.
a. What is your best estimate of firm B’s earnings for 2011?
b. Would you pay more, less, or the same for firm B relative to firm A in 2009?
E6.6.
Normal P/E Ratios (Easy)
Prepare a schedule that gives the normal trailing and forward P/E ratios for the following
levels of the cost of equity capital: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 percent.
Applications
E6.7.
Calculating Cum-Dividend Earnings Growth Rates Nike (Easy)
In early fiscal year 2009, analysts were forecasting $3.90 for Nike’s earnings per share for
the fiscal year ending May 2009 and $4.45 for 2010, with a dividend per share of 92 cents
expected for 2009. Compare the cum-dividend earnings growth rate forecasted for 2010
with ex-dividend earnings growth rate, using a required rate of return of 10 percent.
Real World Connection
See Exercises E2.14, E8.13, E13.17, E13.18, E15.11, E15.13, E18.5 and E19.4 on Nike.
Minicase M2.1 deals with Nike.
E6.8.
Calculating Cum-Dividend Earnings: General Mills (Easy)
General Mills reported earnings and paid dividends from 2004 to 2008 as follows:
Basic EPS
DPS
2004
2.82
1.10
2005
3.34
1.24
2006
3.05
1.34
2007
3.30
1.44
2008
3.86
1.57
Calculate cum-dividend earnings for General Mills for each year, 2005–2008. Also calculate abnormal earnings growth for each of these years. Assume a reinvestment rate for dividends of 10 percent.
Real World Connection
Exercises E1.5, E2.9, E3.9, E4.9, E10.9, E13.15, E14.8, and E15.10 also deal with General
Mills.
E6.9.
Residual Earnings and Abnormal Earnings Growth: IBM (Medium)
Consider the following pro forma for International Business Machines (IBM) based on
analysts’ forecasts in early 2003.
Earnings per share
Dividends per share
2003E
2004E
Next Three Years
4.32
0.60
5.03
0.67
Growth at 11%
Growth at 11%
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
223
The book value of IBM’s common equity at the end of 2002 was $23.4 billion, or $13.85
per share. Use a required return for equity of 12 percent in calculations.
a. Forecast residual earnings for each of the years 2003–2007.
b. Forecast abnormal earnings growth for each of the years 2004–2007.
c. Show that abnormal earnings growth is equal to the growth in residual earnings for
every year.
Real World Connection
Exercises E13.14 and E14.11 deal with IBM, as does Minicase M12.3.
E6.10.
A Normal P/E for General Electric? (Easy)
In early 2008, General Electric (GE) shares were trading at $26.75 each. Analysts were
forecasting $2.21 in EPS for 2008 and $2.30 for 2009. A dividend of $1.24 was indicated
for 2008. Use a required return of 9 percent for the questions below.
a. What is GE’s normal forward P/E? What was the P/E at which it traded?
b. The estimated abnormal earnings growth for 2009 indicates that GE’s stock should be
trading at about a normal P/E. Show this.
E6.11.
Plotting Earnings Implied Growth Rates for the S&P 500 (Medium)
This exercise extends the reverse engineering example for the S&P 500 in this chapter. At
the end of 2003, the S&P 500 index stood at 1000. The chief economist of a leading Wall
Street investment bank was forecasting 2004 earnings for the S&P stocks of $53.00 and
$58.20 for 2005. These earnings estimates are in the same units as the index, so the economist’s forward P/E ratio for the index was $1,000/$53 = 18.87. The payout ratio for the S&P
500 was 31 percent at the time and the economist estimated a market risk premium of 5 percent over the 10-year Treasury rate of 4 percent.
From the text, you will understand that, given the economist’s forecasts, the stock market was forecasting an AEG growth rate for the S&P 500 of 3.9 percent after 2005. What
were the (ex-dividend) earnings growth rates for the years 2006, 2007, and 2008 forecasted
by the stock market at the end of 2003? What were the cum-dividend earnings growth
rates? Assume that the 31 percent payout will be maintained in the future.
E6.12.
Challenging the Level of the S&P 500 Index with Analysts’ Forecasts
(Medium)
The S&P 500 index stood at 1271 in early 2006. Based on analysts’ consensus EPS forecasts for calendar year 2006, the forward P/E ratio for the index was 15.0 at the time. Those
same analysts were giving the S&P 500 a PEG ratio of 1.47, based on forecasts for 2007.
The payout ratio for this portfolio of stocks was 27 percent at the time and investment banks
typically published estimates of the equity risk premium of 5 percent over the current
10-year Treasury rate of 5 percent.
a. Calculate the abnormal earnings growth for 2007 that is implied by the forecasts.
b. What should be the level of the S&P 500 if (cum-dividend) earnings are forecasted to
grow at 10 percent after the forward year? Why is the P/E based on analysts’ forecasts
different?
c. Setting the long-term abnormal earnings growth rate equal to 4 percent (the average
growth rate for GDP), what do analysts’ forecasts say about the level of the S&P 500
index?
d. What conclusions can your draw from this analysis?
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Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
E6.13.
Valuation of Microsoft Corporation (Medium)
In 2006, some fundamental investors believed that Microsoft, after being overpriced in the
stock market for many years, was now a firm to buy. Microsoft’s shares traded at $27.20 on
September 26, 2006, down from a peak of $60 (split-adjusted) in January 2000.
Analysts’ consensus earnings-per-share forecasts for Microsoft’s 2007 and 2008 fiscal
years were $1.44 and $1.67, respectively. A dividend of $0.40 per share was indicated for
2007.
a. In order to build in a margin of safety, fundamental investors think of value without
growth. Value a Microsoft share using abnormal earnings growth (AEG) methods
under the assumptions that AEG will remain at the forecasted 2008 level after 2008.
Use a 9 percent required return for equity investment in Microsoft. What does your
calculation tell you about the market’s forecast of growth in AEG after 2008?
b. Calculate the traded forward P/E ratio for Microsoft and also the forward P/E implied
by your valuation. What is the normal forward P/E for Microsoft?
c. Calculate Microsoft’s traded PEG ratio based on analysts’ forecasts of earnings for
fiscal years 2007 and 2008.
Real World Connection
Coverage of Microsoft continues in Exercises E1.6, E4.14, E7.7, E8.10, E10.11, E11.10
and E19.4, and in Minicases M8.1 and M12.2.
E6.14.
Inferring Implied EPS Growth Rates: Kimberly-Clark Corporation (Medium)
In March 2005, analysts were forecasting consensus earnings per share for Kimberly Clark
(KMB) of $3.81 for fiscal year ending December 31, 2005, and $4.14 for 2006, up from
$3.64 for 2004. KMB traded at $64.81 per share at the time. The firm paid a dividend of
$1.60 in 2004 and a dividend of $1.80 was indicated for 2005, with dividends growing at
9 pecent a year for the five years thereafter. Use a required return of 8.9 percent for the following calculations.
a. Calculate the trailing and forward P/E ratio at which KMB traded in March 2005. Also
calculate the normal trailing and forward P/E for KMB.
b. Calculate the market’s implied growth rate for abnormal earnings growth (AEG) after
2006.
c. What are the earnings-per-share growth rates that the market was forecasting for the
years 2007–2010?
d. Analysts were forecasting an EPS growth rate of 8.0 percent per year over these years.
What do you conclude from the comparison of these growth rates with those you calculated in part (c) of the exercise?
e. Analyst average buy/hold/sell recommendation, on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being a
strong buy), was 2.6. Is this rating supported by their forecasts?
Real World Connection
The continuing case at the end of each chapter follows Kimberly-Clark. See also Exercises
E4.8, E7.8, E10.10, and E11.16 and Minicase 5.3.
E6.15.
Using Earnings Growth Forecasts to Challenge a Stock Price:
Toro Company (Medium)
Toro Company, a lawn products maker based in Minnesota, traded at $55 per share in
October 2002. The firm had maintained a 20 percent annual EPS growth rate over the previous five years, and analysts were forecasting $5.30 per share earnings for the fiscal year
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
225
ending October 2003, with a 12 percent growth rate for the five years thereafter. Use a
required return of 10 percent in answering the following questions.
a. How much is a share of Toro worth based on the forward earnings of $5.30 only
(ignoring any subsequent earnings growth)?
b. Toro maintains a dividend payout of 10 percent of earnings. Based on the forecasted
EPS growth rate of 12 percent, forecast cum-dividend earnings for the five years,
2004–2008.
c. Forecast abnormal earnings growth for the years 2004–2008.
d. Do your calculations indicate whether or not Toro is appropriately priced?
E6.16.
Abnormal Earnings Growth Valuation and Accounting Methods (Hard)
Refer back to the valuation in Exercise E6.3. In the pro forma there, an analyst forecasted
earnings of $388 million for 2010. The forecast was made at the end of 2009 based on preliminary reports from the firm.
When the final report was published, however, the analyst discovered that the firm had
decided to write down its inventory at the end of 2009 by $114 million (following the lowerof-cost-or-market rule). As this was inventory that the analyst had forecasted would be sold
in 2010 (and thus the impairment affects cost of goods sold for that year), the analyst revised
her earnings forecast for 2010. For questions (a) and (b), ignore any effect of taxes.
a. What is the revised earnings forecast for 2010 as a result of the inventory impairment
assuming no change in sales forecasts?
b. Show that the revision in the forecast of 2010 earnings does not change the valuation
of the equity.
c. Now assume that the firm’s income tax rate is 35 percent. Do your answers to questions
(a) and (b) change?
E6.17.
Is a Normal Forward P/E Ratio Appropriate? Maytag Corporation (Easy)
A share of Maytag Corp., another appliance manufacturer, traded at $28.80 in January
2003. Analysts were forecasting earnings per share of $2.94 for 2003 and $3.03 for 2004,
with dividends per share of 72 cents indicated for 2003. Analysts’ 3–5 year growth rate for
earnings per share after 2004 was 3.1 percent.
a. Calculate the normal forward P/E ratio for Maytag if its equity cost of capital is 10 percent. Compare the normal P/E to the actual traded P/E at the time.
b. Do the forecasts of earnings after 2003 indicate that the traded P/E is the appropriate
pricing for the firm’s shares?
Real World Connection
Minicase M15.3 deals with the takeover of Maytag by Whirlpool. Exercise E19.6 deals
with Maytag also.
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Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
Minicases
M6.1
Forecasting from Traded Price-Earnings
Ratios: Cisco Systems, Inc.
Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO), manufactures and sells networking and communications equipment for transporting data, voice, and video and provides services related to that equipment. Its products include routing and switching devices; home and office networking
equipment; and Internet protocol, telephony, security, network management, and software
services. The firm has grown organically but also through acquisition of other networking
and software firms. Cisco’s Web site is www.cisco.com.
Cisco was a darling of the Internet boom, one of the few firms with concrete products.
Indeed its products were important to the development of the infrastructure for the Internet
age and the expansion in telecommunications. At one point, in early 2000, the firm traded
with a total market capitalization of over half a trillion dollars, exceeding that of Microsoft,
and its shares traded at a P/E of over 130. With the bursting of the Internet bubble and the
overcapacity in telecommunications resulting from overinvestment by telecommunications
firms, Cisco’s growth slowed, but it certainly was a strong survivor. By 2004 its revenue had
recovered to the $22.0 billion level reported for 2001.
In September 2004, just after its reports for fiscal year ended July 2004 had been published, Cisco’s 6,735 million shares traded at $21 each on book value of $25,826 billion and
a basic earnings per share for 2004 of $0.64. The firm pays no dividend. Analysts were forecasting consensus basic earnings per share of $0.89 for 2005 and $1.02 for 2006. Most
analysts had buy recommendations of the stock, some had holds, but none was issuing a
sell recommendation. With a beta close to 2.0, investment analysts were using a 12 percent
required return for Cisco’s equity at the time.
A. Bring all the tools in this chapter to an evaluation of whether Cisco’s forward priceearnings ratio in September 2004 is appropriate. You will not be able to resolve the issue
without some detailed forecasting of Cisco’s future profitability (which you should not
attempt at this stage). Rather, quantify the forecasts implicit in Cisco’s $21 price that
could be challenged with further analysis. Identify the speculative components of
Cisco’s price using the building block approach. To start, you should calculate abnormal
earnings growth for 2006 that is implied by the analysts’ forecasts and take the analysis
from there. Figures 6.2 and 6.3 should be helpful to you.
B. Analysts were forecasting an average target price of $24 for the end of fiscal year 2005.
Is the target price consistent with a buy recommendation on the stock? Analysts were
also forecasting a 14.5 percent five-year earnings growth rate. Is the buy recommendation consistent with the forecasts that analysts were making?
Real World Connection
See Minicase 5.1 in Chapter 5 for a parallel investigation using P/B ratios for Cisco
Systems. Minicase M14.2 also deals with the valuation of Cisco, as does Exercise E14.12.
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
227
M6.2
Analysts’ Forecasts and Valuation:
PepsiCo and Coca-Cola
PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP), is a global snack and beverage company operating in nearly 200 countries. It is organized into four divisions: Frito-Lay North America, PepsiCo Beverage North
America, PepsiCo International, and Quaker foods. Products include convenience snacks,
sweet and grain-based snacks, carbonated and noncarbonated drinks, and foods.
On October 1, 2004, PepsiCo traded at $49.80 per share, with a forward P/E of 21.6.
Analysts were forecasting per-share earnings of $2.31 for fiscal year ending December 31,
2004, and $2.56 for 2005. The indicated dividend for 2004 was 0.98 per share. The street
was using 9 percent as a required rate of return for PepsiCo’s equity.
The Coca-Cola Company (KO) also operates in over 200 countries worldwide and competes intensively with PepsiCo in the market for carbonated and noncarbonated beverages.
On October 1, Coke traded at $40.70 with a forward P/E of 20.5. Analysts were forecasting $1.99 in earnings per share for fiscal year ending December 31, 2004, and $2.10 for
2005. The indicated dividend per share was $1.00. The equity is considered to have the
same required return as PepsiCo.
A. For both PepsiCo and Coke, calculate the earnings per share that the market was
implicitly forecasting for 2006, 2007, and 2008.
B. Analysts were forecasting a five-year annual growth rate in earnings per share of 11 percent for PepsiCo and 8 percent for Coke. Compare these growth rates with those that
were implied by the market prices for the firm’s shares at the time.
C. If the forecast is that both firms will maintain their percentage current net profit margins
(Earnings/Sales) in the future, what is the forecast of the sales growth rates for 2006,
2007, and 2008 that was implicit in the current share prices for the two firms?
D. Calculate the PEG ratio for both of the firms. What do you make of this ratio?
For your calculations, assume that the payout ratio indicated for 2004 will be maintained in
the future.
Real World Connection
See Minicase M5.2 in Chapter 5 for a parallel investigation using P/B ratios. Also see
Minicase M4.1 in Chapter 4 for an application of discounted cash flow analysis to CocaCola. Exercises E4.5, E4.6, E4.7, E11.7, E12.7, E14.9, E15.12, E16.7, and E19.4 also deal
with Coca-Cola, and Exercises E4.12 and E9.8 deal with PepsiCo.
M6.3
Reverse Engineering Google: How Do
I Understand the Market’s Expectations?
(This case covers material on Google in Chapter 6. It brings that material together in one
package and adds related issues.)
228
Part One Financial Statements and Valuation
Valuation models can be dangerous if used naively: An analyst can plug in any growth
rate or required return estimate to get a desired valuation. Indeed, a valuation model can be
a vehicle to build speculation into the valuation: Choose a speculative growth rate—or
speculative near-term forecasts—and you will get a speculative valuation. Garbage in,
garbage out.
Remember the fundamentalist dictum: Beware of paying too much for growth. We
would like to apply valuation models in a way that disciplines speculation about growth.
Chapters 5 and 6 have shown that residual earnings and abnormal growth models protect us
from paying too much for earnings growth from investment that does not add value. They
also protect us from paying for earnings growth generated by accounting methods. But they
cannot protect us from our own foolish speculation.
Benjamin Graham hit the nail on the head:
The concept of future prospects and particularly of continued growth in the future invites the
application of formulas out of higher mathematics to establish the present value of the
favored issue. But the combination of precise formulas with highly imprecise assumptions
can be used to establish, or rather justify, practically any value one wishes, however high, for
a really outstanding issue.1
Reverse engineering gives us a way of handling valuation models differently: Rather
than using a model to get a value, use a model to understand the forecasts implicit in the
market price. This fits well with active investing. Investing is not a game against nature, but
rather a game against other investors. For the active investor, there is no “true” intrinsic
value to be discovered. Rather, he or she is playing against others; active investors “win” if
they find that others’ expectations (embedded in the market price) are not justified by sound
analysis. Thus, the right question is not whether a valuation model gives you the “right”
value but rather whether the model can help you understand what expectations explain the
market price. With this understanding, the investor then compares those expectations to his
or her own. Rather than challenging the price with a “true” intrinsic value, the active
investor challenges price by challenging others’ expectations. Reverse engineering is the
vehicle.
At this point, you have not done the analysis to form confident expectations, but you can
do the reverse engineering to understand others’ expectations. This case asks you to do so
with Google, Inc., a firm for which the market has had high expectations.
After coming to the market at just under $100 per share in a much heralded IPO in
August 2004, Google’s shares soared to over $700 by the end of 2007. The firm, with revenues tied mostly to advertising on its Web search engine and Web application products,
held out the promise of the technological frontier. It certainly delivered sales and earnings
growth, increasing sales from $3.2 billion in 2004 to $16.6 billion in 2007, with earnings
per share increasing over the same years from $2.07 to $13.53. One might be concerned
about buying such a hot stock. This case asks you to challenge the market price in mid2008, but to do so by challenging the forecasts implicit in the market price. Tease out those
forecasts using the abnormal earnings growth valuation model.
In mid-2008, Google traded at $520. Analysts at the time were forecasting EPS of
$19.61 for 2008 and $24.01 for 2009, yielding a forward P/E of 26.5. Analysts’ consensus
five-year EPS growth rate was 28 percent.
A. Apply abnormal earnings growth (AEG) valuation to value Google based on these forecasts. Beta shops report a typical beta for Google of about 2.0, so use a high required
return of 12 percent (against the current risk-free rate of 4 percent).
1
B. Graham, The Intelligent Investor, 4th rev. ed. (New York: Harper and Row, 1973), pp. 315–316.
Chapter 6 Accrual Accounting and Valuation: Pricing Earnings
229
B. Analysts’ intermediate-range forecasts (up to five years ahead) are notoriously optimistic, especially for a “hot stock” like Google. Anchoring on only the 2008 and 2009
forecasts, estimate the growth rate in abnormal earnings growth (AEG) that the market
is forecasting for years after 2009. What does your answer tell you about analysts’ fiveyear growth rate?
C. Build a valuation building block diagram, like that in Figure 6.3 in the text, and plot the
EPS growth rates for 2010 to 2012 that are forecasted by the market price.
D. How would you now go about challenging the market price of $520? Calculate Google’s
PEG ratio. Does this help you?
E. Suppose you conclude that the highest (AEG) growth rate that Google can maintain (in
perpetuity) is 6 percent. What is the expected return to buying the stock at $520 with this
growth rate? When might you prefer to reverse engineer to the expected return rather
than the growth rate?
Part Two
Knowing the business 1
• The products
• The knowledge base
• The competition
• The regulatory
constraints
The Analysis of
Financial Statements
Strategy
Analyzing information 2
• In financial statements
• Outside of financial
statements
Forecasting payoffs
• Specifying payoffs
• Forecasting payoffs
3
Converting forecasts
to a valuation
4
Trading on the
valuation
5
Outside investor:
Compare value with
price to buy, sell, or
hold
Inside investor:
Compare value with
cost to accept or
reject strategy
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
How business
activities are
represented in
financial
statements
How the
statement of
shareholders'
equity is
analyzed
Analyzing the
balance sheet
and income
statement to
reveal
profitability
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Analyzing the
cash flow
statement to
identify cash
generation
Analyzing
profitability to
discover what
drives it
Analyzing
earnings growth
to discover
what drives it
Part One of the book was concerned with concepts and with developing good
thinking about valuation. Parts Two and Three apply good thinking to develop
practical analysis.
The five steps in valuation analysis that were laid out in Chapter 3 are displayed
here. Forecasting, in Step 3, is at the heart of the process and Part Three of the
book focuses on forecasting. But to forecast, the forecaster must first analyze
information in Step 2 of the process. This part of the book develops the financial
statement analysis for Step 2 as a platform for forecasting in Step 3.
The valuation models outlined in Chapters 5 and 6 guide the forecasting. To
add value to book value (and determine the price-to-book ratio), we must forecast
future residual earnings, and to add value to capitalized earnings (and determine
the price-earnings ratio), we must forecast abnormal earnings growth. We have
seen that residual earnings and abnormal earnings growth amount to the same
thing, so the analysis that supports the forecasting is the same.
Accordingly, the culmination of this part of the book is the analysis of the two
drivers, ROCE and growth in investment that earns at the ROCE. In analyzing financial statements, we discover the factors that drive current ROCE and growth and use
them as a starting point for forecasting future ROCE and growth. Forecasting then
becomes a question of how future ROCE and growth will be different from current
ROCE and growth.
Step 1 of the valuation process requires that the analyst “know the business”
before proceeding to Step 2. To begin financial statement analysis, the analyst must
know how financial statements report the business that she has come to understand. Chapter 7 shows how business activities that drive value are represented in
financial statements and shows how published financial statements are modified to
highlight those activities. The modifications put the statements in a form that readies them for analysis.
Chapters 8, 9, and 10 analyze the financial statements. Chapter 8 deals with
the statement of shareholders’ equity, with a focus on uncovering comprehensive
income and comprehensive ROCE, for correct analysis can proceed only if earnings
are comprehensive. Chapter 9 analyzes the income statement and balance sheet.
Here the focus is on distinguishing the firm’s operating and financing activities and
establishing the profitability of the two activities. Chapter 10 analyzes the statement
of cash flows to identify the free cash flow from operations and the cash flows involved with financing.
Chapters 11 and 12 are the high point of this part of the book. They dissect the
statements to discover the drivers of ROCE and net asset growth and so establish
the platform for forecasting.
The financial statement analysis is done with a purpose: to discover what aspects
of the financial statements tell us about the features of the business that determine a
firm’s value. You may have done some “ratio analysis” before—calculating ratios
such as the current ratio or the inventory turnover—but after doing the calculations,
you may have been left wondering: What now do I do with these ratios? In particular,
what do the ratios tell me about the value of the firm? This part of the book outlines
how you go about financial statement analysis in a systematic way to get an answer.
Chapter Seven
LINKS
Link to previous chapters
Chapter 1 introduced
the firm's operating,
investing, and financing
activities. Chapter 2
introduced the financial
statements. Chapters 5
and 6 outlined valuation
models that anchor on
those financial statements.
Viewing the Business
Through the Financial
Statements
This chapter
This chapter shows how the
three business activities are
depicted in the financial
statements. It also shows
how the statements are
redesigned to highlight
these activities and to
prepare the statements for
applying the valuation
models in Chapters 5 and 6.
How are the
cash flows of a
business
identified
in the cash flow
statement?
How are
operating and
financing assets
and liabilities
identified in the
balance sheet?
How are
operating and
financing
income
identified in the
income
statement?
What
measures
capture the
operating and
financing
profitability?
Link to next three chapters
Chapters 8, 9, and 10
reformulate the statements
according to the design
developed in this chapter.
Link to Web page
Build your own financial
analysis spreadsheet based
on the chapter; for
assistance visit the BYOAP
feature on the text's Web
site at www.mhhe.com/
penman4e
Every stock purchase is in fact the purchase of a business. And anyone who buys a business
should know that business. This maxim, recognized in Chapter 1, requires the analyst to
investigate “what makes the business tick.” This might be done through factory visits and
interviews with management. But we also observe the business through financial statements. Financial statements are the lens on the business, so we need to get a feel for not
only how the business operates but also how its operations are represented in financial
statements. Then we will understand the story behind the numbers.
This chapter builds on the introduction to businesses in Chapter 1 and the introduction
to financial statements in Chapter 2. Chapter 2 showed how financial statements depict
“stocks” and “flows” and how these articulating stocks and flows tell a story. This chapter
shows how the three business activities introduced in Chapter 1—financing, investing, and
operating activities—are depicted through stocks and flows in the statements. And it shows
how this depiction is the basis for the analysis of the value generation in a business.
Chapter 7 Viewing the Business Through the Financial Statements
233
The Analyst’s Checklist
After reading this chapter you should understand:
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
• How businesses are set up to generate value.
• Apply the treasurer’s rule.
• Why reformatting financial statements is necessary for
analysis.
• Lay out the form of reformulated cash flow statements,
balance sheets, and income statements.
• How operating, investing, and financing activities are
depicted in reformatted financial statements.
• Explain how net operating assets change over time.
• The four types of cash flows in a business.
• Explain how free cash flow is generated.
• How the four types of cash flows relate to each other.
• Explain how free cash flow is disposed of.
• How reformulated statements tie together as a set of
stocks and flows.
• Add new accounting relations to your set of analyst’s
tools.
• What operating activities involve.
• Calculate return on net operating assets and net
borrowing cost from reformulated statements.
• What financing activities involve.
• Explain how net financial obligations change over time.
• What determines dividends.
• What determines free cash flow.
• How free cash flow is disposed of.
• How free cash flow is a dividend from operating activities to the financing activities.
• How the financial statements are organized to measure
value added for shareholders.
• Why free cash flow does not affect the accounting for
value added.
Chapter 2 introduced the financial statements in the form in which they are presented
under GAAP accounting and the disclosure rules issued by the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). That form does not quite give the picture we want to draw for valuation purposes. To improve our focus, we reformulate the statements in this chapter in a way
that aligns the statements with the business activities. This reformulation readies the statements for the analysis in subsequent chapters which uncovers the factors that determine
residual earnings and abnormal earnings growth, the primary valuation attributes in
Chapters 5 and 6.
The emphasis in the chapter is on design. In subsequent chapters, the design template is
applied to real companies and the analysis comes to life.
As you read the chapter, begin to think about how you might build a spreadsheet
program that inputs the financial statements in a way that readies them for analysis. In
Chapter 2 the form of the financial statements was given by a set of accounting relations.
Here, too, the form of the reformulated financial statements is given by a set of accounting
relations. These accounting relations tell you how to structure a spreadsheet program that
can, with further embellishments in subsequent chapters, be used to analyze financial
statements and value firms. At the end of the chapter you will be introduced to a spreadsheet feature on the book’s Web site that leads you in this direction.
234
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
BUSINESS ACTIVITIES: THE CASH FLOWS
In Figure 1.1 in Chapter 1 we depicted the transactions between the firm and its shareholders and debtholders. The firm, however, was left as a black box, although we recognized that the firm is engaged in financing activities, investing activities, and operating
activities. Our aim in this and subsequent chapters is to fill out that box. Figure 7.1 begins
to build the picture, to be completed in Figures 7.2 and 7.3. Figure 7.1 is similar to Figure
1.1 in Chapter 1, where cash flows to and from debtholders and shareholders are depicted.
The cash flows to and from the debtholders and the firm have been reduced to a net flow,
the net debt financing flow, labeled F in the figure. This involves the net cash flow to bondholders, banks, and other creditors, that is, cash paid to debtholders in interest and principal repayments less cash paid into the firm from borrowing more from these creditors.
Similarly, the net dividend to shareholders (d in the figure) is cash paid in dividends and
stock repurchases less cash contributions to the firm from shareholders. The transactions
between the two claimants and the firm are the firm’s financing activities—debt and equity
financing—and these take place in capital markets where the firm and these claimants
trade.
Debt financing flows involve payments to and from debt issuers as well as debtholders.
A firm always begins with cash contributions from shareholders. Cash is a nonproductive
asset so, until it is invested in operations, firms invest this cash in bonds or other interestbearing paper and deposits, referred to as financial assets or sometimes as marketable
securities. These financial assets are purchased in the capital market from debt issuers—
governments (T-bills and bonds), banks (interest-bearing deposits), or other firms (corporate
FIGURE 7.1
Cash Flows between
the Firm and
Claimants in the
Capital Market
Cash received from
debtholders and
shareholders is
(temporarily) invested
in financial assets. Cash
payments to debtholders
and shareholders are
made by liquidating
financial assets (that
is, selling debt). Net
financing assets are
debt purchased from
issuers, net of debt
issued to debtholders.
Net financing assets
can be negative (that
is, if debt sold to
debtholders is greater
than debt purchased).
The Firm
Capital Markets
F
Debtholders
or
debt issuers
Net
financial
assets
(NFA)
d
Shareholders
Financing Activities
Key:
F = Net cash flow to debtholders and issuers
d = Net cash flow to shareholders
NFA = Net financial assets = Financial assets – Financial liabilities
Chapter 7 Viewing the Business Through the Financial Statements
Cash Flows to
Claimants and Cash
Flows within the Firm
Cash generated from
operations is invested
in net financial assets
(that is, it is used to
buy financial assets or
to reduce financial
liabilities). Cash
investment in
operations is made by
reducing net financial
assets (that is, by
liquidating financial
assets or issuing
financial obligations).
Cash from operations
and cash investment
may be negative (such
that, for example, cash
can be generated by
liquidating an
operating asset and
investing the proceeds
in a financial asset).
Capital Markets
The Firm
FIGURE 7.2
235
F
Debtholders
or
debt issuers
C
Net
operating
assets
(NOA)
Net
financial
assets
(NFA)
I
d
Operating Activities
Key:
Shareholders
Financing Activities
F = Net cash flow to debtholders and issuers
d = Net cash flow to shareholders
C = Cash flow from operations
I = Cash investment
NFA = Net financial assets
NOA = Net operating assets = Operating assets – Operating liabilities
bonds or commercial paper). They involve a cash payment out of the firm in exchange for
the financial assets. Like the issue of debt, the purchase of debt is also a financing activity.
It is lending rather than borrowing, but both amount to buying and selling bonds or other
financial claims. A firm can be a buyer of debt (of a debt issuer) if it has excess cash or can
be an issuer of debt (to a debtholder) if it needs cash. In the first case it holds financial assets and interest and principal repayments flow into the firm. In the second case it has
financial obligations or financial liabilities, and interest and principal repayments are
paid out of the firm. In the first case, the net debt financing flow, F, is cash paid to buy
bonds or paper less cash received in interest and from the sale of the bonds. In the second
case, the net debt financing flow, F, is cash paid in interest and to redeem bonds less cash
received in issuing (selling the firm’s own) bonds.
Firms often issue debt and hold debt at the same time. Thus they hold both financial assets and financial obligations. The net debtholding is net financial assets, financial assets
minus financial obligations, as depicted in Figure 7.1, or, if financial obligations are greater
than financial assets, net financial obligations. Correspondingly, the net debt financing flow
is the net cash outflow with respect to both borrowing and lending.
Figure 7.2 completes the cash flow picture. Firms typically are not primarily in the business of buying bonds but hold bonds only temporarily to invest idle cash. They invest in
operating assets—land, factories, inventories, and so on—that produce products for sale.
This is the firm’s investing activities and the cash flows involved are cash investment or
cash flow in investment activities, labeled I in the figure. To invest in operating assets, firms
236
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
sell financial assets and buy operating assets with the proceeds. The arrows go both ways
in the diagram because firms can also liquidate operating assets (in discontinued operations, for example) and buy financial assets with the proceeds. The operating assets, set to
work, produce net cash flows (cash inflows from selling products less cash outflows from
paying wages, rent, invoices, and so on) and this cash flow is referred to as cash flow from
operations. This cash is invested in financial assets by buying debt, or used to reduce the
firm’s own debt. The circle perpetuates. Cash from operations is never “left lying around”
but is invested in financial assets to earn interest until needed. When needed, financial
assets are liquidated to make cash investment in operations. Note that the term “investing
activities” means investment in operating assets, not financial assets; indeed, investment in
operating assets involves a liquidation of net financial assets.
Cash flow from operations and cash flow for investing activities were introduced in
Chapter 4. We can now state a very important accounting identity known as the cash
conservation equation or the sources and uses of cash equation. The four cash flows in
Figure 7.2 always obey the relationship
Free cash flow = Net dividends to shareholders
+ Net payments to debtholders and issuers
(7.1)
C–I=d+F
That is, cash flow from operations less cash investment in operations always equals the net
cash flows paid to debtholders (or issuers) and shareholders. The left-hand side, C − I, is the
free cash flow. If operations generate more cash than is used in investment, free cash flow
is positive. If operations produce less cash than is needed for new investment, free cash
flow is negative. A positive free cash flow is used either to buy bonds (F ) or pay dividends
(d ). A negative free cash flow requires that a firm either issue bonds (negative F ) or issue
shares (negative d ) to satisfy the cash shortfall. The cash conservation equation is called an
identity because it’s always true. Cash generated must be disposed of; the sources of cash
must be equal to its uses.
You see now how a firm may have financial obligations rather than financial assets (as is
often so). Financial obligations are just negative financial assets. If free cash flow is negative, a firm can sell off financial assets to get cash; if these assets are all sold and if the firm
chooses not to reduce its net dividend, however, the firm will have to issue debt to get the
cash. Thus the firm becomes a net debtor rather than a creditor, a holder of net financial
obligations rather than net financial assets. In either case it just trades in the debt market. If
free cash flow is positive, the firm buys others’ bonds with the cash or buys its own bonds
(redeems them), holding net dividends constant. If free cash flow is negative, it sells
bonds—either its own bonds or others’ bonds which it holds. This is debt financing activity, and although sometimes it’s done with banks (where the firm might have a loan or an
interest-bearing deposit), you can think of it as trading in bonds. In doing so, the firm will
have to cover any net dividend it wants to pay and, of course, net cash interest also generates or uses cash. The treasurer’s rule summarizes this:
If C – I – i > d, then lend or buy down own debt.
If C – I – i < d, then borrow or reduce lending.
Here i is the net interest cash outflow (interest paid minus interest received). Net interest is
after tax, as calculated in Chapter 4, because net cash paid is after receiving a tax deduction
for interest. See Box 7.1.
Applying the Treasurer’s Rule:
Microsoft and General Electric
7.1
MICROSOFT CORPORATION: POSITIVE FREE CASH FLOW
In its second quarter for 2004, Microsoft generated $4,064 million in free cash flow and received $338 million in interest, net
of tax, from short-term marketable securities it held. It paid a net $2,270 million in cash out to shareholders, leaving $2,132 million with which it purchased short-term interest-bearings securities.
In its second quarter for 2005, Microsoft generated $3,200 million in free cash flow and received $242 million in interest,
net of tax, for short-term marketable securities it held. In this quarter, the firm paid out a large special net dividend to shareholders of $33,672 million, leaving a cash short fall. Accordingly it sold $30,230 million of marketable securities to provide cash
for the dividend.
The calculations for the treasurer’s trading in debt are as follows (in millions):
Cash flow from operations
Cash investment in operations
Free cash flow
Cash interest received (after tax)
Cash available for shareholders
Net dividend:
Cash dividend
Share repurchases
Share issues
Purchase (sale) of financial assets
$1,729
730
(189)
2nd Quarter
2004
2nd Quarter
2005
$4,236
172
4,064
338
4,402
$3,377
177
3,200
242
3,442
2,270
$2,132
$33,498
969
(795)
33,672
$(30,230)
GENERAL ELECTRIC CORPORATION: NEGATIVE FREE CASH FLOW
During 2002, General Electric generated $34.8 billion in cash flow from operations but made $61.2 billion further investment
in operations, including $7.7 billion of capital expenditure on property, plant, and equipment, $21.6 billion in acquisitions, and
$18.1 billion investment in financing receivables. Accordingly, its free cash flow was negative to the amount of −$26.4 billion.
As it paid out $8.1 billion to shareholders, it had to borrow $40.6 billion to cover this payout, the free cash deficit, and $6.1 billion in interest payments on debt.
The calculations for the treasurer’s trading in debt are as follows (in millions):
Cash flow from operations
Cash investment in operations
Free cash flow
Interest paid (after tax)
Cash available to shareholders
Net dividend:
Cash dividend
Share repurchases
Net issue of debt
$34,848
61,227
(26,379)
6,082
(32,461)
$7,157
985
8,142
$40,603
As the treasurer had $57.8 billion of debt to repay, he issued $98.4 billion of new debt (for a net debt issue of $40.6 billion).
237
Summary Reformulated Cash Flow Statements:
Microsoft and General Electric
7.2
The cash flows in Box 7.1 are summarized in reformulated cash flow statements below (in millions). The reformulated statement
distinguishes cash flows associated with operating activities from cash flows associated with financing activities. As free cash flow
must be paid out either to shareholders or net debtholders, the statement obeys the cash conservation equation: C − I = d + F.
Microsoft
1Q, 2004
Cash flow from operations (C)
Cash investment (I)
Free cash flow (C - I )
$4,236
(172)
4,064
Equity financing flows (d):
Dividends and share repurchases
Share issues
Debt financing flows (F ):
Net purchase of financial assets
Interest on financial assets (after tax)
Net issue of debt
Interest paid on debt (after tax)
Total financing flows (d + F )
GE
1Q, 2005
2002
$3,377
(177)
3,200
$34,848
(61,227)
(26,379)
$2,459
(189) 2,270
$34,467
(795) 33,672
$8,142
—
2,132
(338)
—
(30,230)
(242)
—
—
—
(40,603)
6,082
$4,064
$3,200
$(26,379)
8,142
The Reformulated Cash Flow Statement
The accountant keeps track of the cash flows in a statement of cash flows. A statement of
cash flows that summarizes the four cash flows in Figure 7.2 is as follows (items in parentheses are negative amounts):
Reformulated Statement of Cash Flows
Cash flow from operations
Cash investment
Free cash flow
Equity financing flows:
Dividends and share repurchases
Share issues
Debt financing flows:
Net purchase of financial assets
Interest on financial assets (after tax)
Net issue of debt
Interest on debt (after tax)
Total financing flows
C
(I )
C−I
XX
(XX)
XX
(XX)
(XX)
XX
d
F
d+F
This dummy statement is a little different from the GAAP statement of cash flows introduced earlier. It corresponds to the thought process of the treasurer or chief financial officer who is considering financing needs, and we want financial statements that reflect management activities. One of our tasks when we analyze the cash flow statement in Chapter 10
will be to reformulate the statement to identify the four cash flows clearly. See Box 7.2.
238
Chapter 7 Viewing the Business Through the Financial Statements
239
The Reformulated Balance Sheet
The cash flows in Figure 7.2 are flows into and out of stocks of net assets depicted by boxes.
So a cash investment, for example, is a flow that reduces the stock of net financial assets and
increases the stock of operating assets. The balance sheet keeps track of the stock of financial
assets and obligations, and so reports the net indebtedness. The balance sheet keeps track of
the stock of operating assets as well. Published balance sheets list assets and liabilities, usually classified into current and long-term categories. This division is useful for credit analysis (as we will see in Chapter 19). But for equity analysis, the published statements are better
reformulated into operating and financial assets and operating and financial liabilities.
Operating assets and liabilities are simply the assets and liabilities used in the business of
selling to customers. Financing assets are assets and liabilities used in the financing of the
business. The former are involved in trading with customers and suppliers, the latter in trading in capital markets.
A dummy balance sheet that corresponds to Figure 7.2 looks like this:
Balance Sheet
Assets
Liabilities and Equity
Operating assets
Financial assets
OA
FA
_______
OA + FA
Total assets
Operating liabilities
Financial obligations
Common stockholders’ equity
Total claims
OL
FO
CSE
OL + FO + CSE
Financing items can be assets or obligations (liabilities), as we have discussed. But operating items also can be positive or negative. If they are positive, they are called operating
assets (OA). If they are negative, they are called operating liabilities (OL). Accounts
receivable is an operating asset because it arises from selling products in operations.
Accounts payable is an operating liability because it arises from buying goods and services
in operations. So are wages payable, pension liabilities, and other accrued expenses. We
will deal with these classifications in more detail when we analyze actual balance sheets in
Chapter 9 and reformulate them along the lines of this dummy statement. For now, note that
operating liabilities arise as part of operations whereas financial liabilities arise as part of
the financing activities to get cash to run the operations.
To distinguish operating and financing activities, it helps to regroup these items in the
balance sheet:
Reformulated Balance Sheet
Operating Assets
Financial Obligations and Owners’ Equity
Operating assets
Operating liabilities
OA
(OL)
Net operating assets
NOA
Financial obligations
Financial assets
Net financial obligations
Common shareholders’ equity
Net operating assets (NOA) = OA − OL
Net financial assets (NFA) = FA − FO
Common shareholders’ equity (CSE) = NOA + NFA
FO
(FA)
NFO
CSE
NFO + CSE
240
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
Usually NFA is negative, in which case it is net financial obligations (NFO):
CSE = NOA − NFO
The difference between operating assets and operating liabilities is the net operating assets
(NOA). The difference between financial assets and financial obligations is the net financial
assets (NFA). If NFA is negative, we have net financial obligations (NFO), as in this
dummy statement. If NFA is positive, it is placed on the left-hand side. The book value of
common stockholders’ equity, CSE, was previously indicated as B. The last two identities
under the statement restate the standard balance sheet equation (Assets − Liabilities =
Owners’ equity) in terms of the two net stocks for operating and financial activities. The
owners’ equity is seen as an investment in net operating assets and net financial assets, and
the investment in net financial assets can be negative.
BUSINESS ACTIVITIES: ALL STOCKS AND FLOWS
The picture in Figure 7.2 is not complete: How does the income statement fit in? Well, firms
raise cash from capital markets to invest in financing assets which are then turned into
operating assets. But they then use the operating assets in operations. This involves buying
inputs from suppliers (of labor, materials, and so on) and applying them with the net operating assets (such as factories, plant, and equipment) to produce goods or services that
are sold to customers. Financing activities involve trading in capital markets. Operating
activities involve trading with these customers and suppliers in product and input markets.
Figure 7.3 completes the picture.
FIGURE 7.3
All Stocks and Flows
for a Firm
Net operating assets
employed in operations
generate operating
revenue (by selling
goods and services to
customers) and incur
operating expenses (by
buying inputs from
suppliers). Δ indicates
changes.
Product and
Input Markets
Capital Markets
The Firm
OR
F
Debtholders
or
debt issuers
C
Customers
Net
operating
assets
(NOA)
Net
financial
assets
(NFA)
I
Suppliers
OE
d
Shareholders
OR – OE = OI
OI – ΔNOA = C – I
C – I – ΔNFA + NFI = d
Operating Activities
Key:
F = Net cash flow to debtholders and issuers
d = Net cash flow to shareholders
C = Cash flow from operations
I = Cash investment
NFA = Net financial assets
Financing Activities
NOA = Net operating assets
OR = Operating revenue
OE = Operating expense
OI = Operating income
NFI = Net financial income
Chapter 7 Viewing the Business Through the Financial Statements
241
Trading with suppliers involves giving up resources, and this loss of value is called
operating expense (OE in the figure). The goods and services purchased have value in that
they can be combined with the operating assets to yield products or services. These products or services are sold to customers to obtain operating revenue, or value gained (OR in
the figure). The difference between operating revenue and operating expense is called
operating income: OI = OR − OE. If all goes well, operating income is positive: The firm
adds value. If not, operating income is negative: The firm loses value.
Figure 7.3 depicts the stocks and flows involved in the three business activities—
financing, investing, and operating activities. It is common, however, to refer to the operating and investment activities together as operating activities (as in the figure), because investment is a matter of buying assets for operations. So analysts distinguish operating
activities (which include investing activities) from financing activities (as in the figure).
The Reformulated Income Statement
The income statement summarizes the operating activities and reports the operating income or operating loss. The operating income is combined with the income and expense
from financing activities to give the total value added to the shareholder, comprehensive
income, or earnings:
Reformulated Income Statement
Operating revenue
Operating expense
Operating income
Financial expense
Financial income
OR
(OE)
OI
XX
(XX)
(NFE)
Earnings
Both operating income and net financial expense are after tax. Chapter 9 shows how to
calculate the after-tax amounts. Operating revenues and operating expenses are not cash
flows. They are measures of value in and value out as determined by the accountant. To capture that value, the accountant adds accruals to the cash flows, as we saw in Chapter 4.
Similarly, interest income and interest expense (and other financing income and expenses)
are not necessarily cash flows. As with operating income, the accountant determines what
interest income and expense should be using an accrual: As cash interest on a discount
bond (for example) does not represent the effective borrowing cost, the accountant uses the
effective interest method to adjust the cash amount. The net amount of effective interest income (on financial assets) and effective interest expense (on financial obligations) is called
net financial income (NFI) or, if interest expense is greater than interest income, net
financial expense (NFE).
ACCOUNTING RELATIONS THAT GOVERN
REFORMULATED STATEMENTS
We now have three reformulated statements. Just as published statements are governed by
the accounting relations laid out in Chapter 2, so the reformulated statements are also governed by accounting relations. The cash flow and income statements are statements of flows
over a period—operating flows and financing flows—and the balance sheet is a statement
of the stocks—operating and financing stocks—at the end of a period. The flows during a
period flow into and out of the stocks, as in the diagram, so the changes in the stocks are
explained by the flows.
242
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
The flows and the changes in stocks are linked at the bottom of Figure 7.3. These links
between stocks and flows are accounting relations. Accounting relations not only govern
the form of the statements—how different components relate to each other—but they also
describe what drives, or determines, each component. Financial analysis is a question of
what drives financial statements, what drives earnings and book values. So the accounting
relations we are about to lay out, though stated in technical terms here, will become analysis tools in subsequent chapters. As we proceed, you might refer to Box 7.3 where you can
see the accounting relations working for Nike, Inc.
The Sources of Free Cash Flow and the Disposition
of Free Cash Flow
Free cash flow is generated by cash from operations net of cash investment. But we can also
depict the generation of free cash flow in terms of the accrual accounting income statements and balance sheets. Moving from left to right in Figure 7.3, we see how free cash
flow is generated:
Free cash flow = Operating income − Change in net operating assets
(7.2)
C − I = OI − ΔNOA
where the Greek delta, Δ, indicates changes. Operations generate operating income, and
free cash flow is the part of this income remaining after reinvesting some of it in net operating assets. In a sense, free cash flow is a dividend from the operations, the cash from operating profits after retaining some of the profits as assets. If the investment in NOA is
greater than operating income, free cash flow is negative, and an infusion of cash (a negative dividend) into the operations is needed.
The right-hand side of the figure explains the disposition of free cash flow:
Free cash flow = Change in net financial assets
− Net financial income + Net dividends
(7.3a)
C − I = ΔNFA − NFI + d
That is, free cash flow is used to pay net dividends, with the remainder invested in net
financial assets, along with net financial income. Box 7.1 provided an example for
Microsoft. If the firm has net financial obligations,
Free cash flow = Net financial expenses
− Change in net financial obligations + Net dividends
(7.3b)
C − I = NFE − ΔNFO + d
That is, free cash flow is applied to pay for net financial expenses, reduce net borrowing,
and pay net dividends. Box 7.2 provided an example for General Electric.
These two expressions for free cash flow will be important to cash flow analysis (in
Chapter 10).
The Drivers of Dividends
Running all the way from left to right in Figure 7.3, you see how the value created in product and input markets and recorded in the accounting system flows through to the final
dividend to shareholders: Operations yield value (operating income) that is invested in net
operating assets; excess (or “free”) cash from operations is invested in net financial assets,
which yield net interest income; then these financial assets are liquidated to pay dividends.
If operations need cash (negative free cash flow), financial assets are liquidated or financial
obligations are created through borrowing. Alternatively, cash is raised from shareholders
(a negative dividend) and temporarily invested in financial assets until needed to satisfy the
negative free cash flow. And so the world turns.
Chapter 7 Viewing the Business Through the Financial Statements
243
The last point of this dividend generation is stated by the accounting relation to the right
in Figure 7.3:
Net dividends = Free cash flow + Net financial income
− Change in net financial assets
(7.4a)
d = C − I + NFI − ΔNFA
which is a reordering of the free cash flow relation (7.3a). That is, dividends are paid out of
free cash flow and interest earned on financial assets and by selling financial assets. If free
cash flow is insufficient to pay dividends, financial assets are sold (or financial obligations
incurred) to pay the dividend.
If the firm is a net debtor,
Net dividends = Free cash flow − Net financial expenses
+ Change in net financial obligations
(7.4b)
d = C − I − NFE + ΔNFO
which is a reordering of the free cash flow relation (7.3b). That is, dividends are generated
from free cash flow after servicing interest, but also by increasing borrowing. You see why
dividends might not be a good indicator of the value generation in a business (at least in the
short run): A firm can borrow to generate dividends (at least in the short run).
Dividends in these relations are net dividends, so cash is paid in by shareholders if free
cash flow after net interest is less than net borrowing.
The Drivers of Net Operating Assets and Net Indebtedness
By reordering these accounting relations we explain changes in the balance sheet. From
equation 7.2,
Net operating assets (end) = Net operating assets (beginning)
+ Operating income − Free cash flow
(7.5)
NOAt = NOAt−1 + OIt − (Ct − It)
or
Change in net operating assets = Operating income − Free cash flow
ΔNOAt = OIt − (Ct − It)
Operating income is value added from operations, and that value increases the net operating assets. So, for example, a sale on credit increases both operating revenue and operating
assets through a receivable; and purchase of materials on credit or a deferral of compensation increases both operating expense and operating liabilities through an accounts payable
or wages payable. (This is just the debits and credits of accounting at work.) Free cash flow
reduces net operating assets as cash is taken from operations and invested in net financial
assets. Or, expressing the change in NOA as ΔNOA = OI − C + I, you see that operating
income and cash investment increase NOA, and NOA is reduced by the cash flows from
operations that are invested in net financial assets.
Correspondingly, the change in net financial assets is determined by the income from
net financial assets and free cash flows, along with dividends:
Net financial assets (end) = Net financial assets (begin)
+ Net financial income
+ Free cash flow − Net dividends
NFAt = NFAt−1 + NFIt + (Ct − It) − dt
(7.6a)
244
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
or
Change in net financial assets = Net financial income + Free cash flow − Net dividends
ΔNFAt = NFIt + (Ct − It) − dt
The net financial income earned on net financial assets adds to the assets, free cash flow
increases the assets (as the cash from operations is invested in financial assets), and the
assets are liquidated to pay net dividends. If the firm holds net financial obligations rather
than net financial assets,
Net financial obligations (end) = Net financial obligation (begin)
+ Net financial expense
− Free cash flow + Net dividends
(7.6b)
NFOt = NFOt−1 + NFEt − (Ct − It) + dt
or
Change in net financial obligations = Net financial expense − Free cash flow
+ Net dividends
ΔNFOt = NFEt − (Ct − It) + dt
That is, interest obligations increase net indebtedness, free cash flow reduces indebtedness,
and the firm has to borrow to finance the net dividend.
These accounting relations, remember, tell us what drives the various aspects of the
(reformulated) statements. Net operating assets are driven by operating income and
reduced by free cash flow, as in equation 7.5. Or, stated differently, NOA is increased by
operating revenue, reduced by operating expenses, increased by cash investment, and
reduced by cash from operations (which is not “left lying around” but invested in financial
assets). The relations for net financial assets and obligations, equations 7.6a and 7.6b,
explain what determines the borrowing or lending requirement and so restate the treasurer’s
rule: The amount of new debt to be purchased (and put on the balance sheet) is determined
by the free cash flow after interest and the net dividend.
TYING IT TOGETHER FOR SHAREHOLDERS:
WHAT GENERATES VALUE?
Figure 7.4 shows how reformulated financial statements articulate. The comparative balance sheet, at the center, reports the change in net operating assets, net financial obligations, and common shareholders’ equity for a period. These changes are explained by the
income statement and cash flow statement. Operating income increases net operating assets
(and also increases shareholders’ equity), and net financial expense increases net financial
obligations (and decreases shareholders’ equity). Free cash flow decreases net operating
assets and also decreases the net indebtedness. Dividends are paid out of the net financial
obligations—by liquidating financial assets (to get the cash) or by issuing debt. In short, the
financial statements track the operating and financing flows of a business and show how
they update the stocks of net operating assets, net financial obligations, and (as ΔCSE =
ΔNOA − ΔNFO) the change in shareholders’ equity. The stocks and flows relations for
NOA and NFO (or NFA) are similar in form to the stocks and flows equation for common
stockholders’ equity introduced in Chapter 2:
CSEt = CSEt−1 + Earningst − Net dividendst
Chapter 7 Viewing the Business Through the Financial Statements
245
FIGURE 7.4 The Articulation of Reformulated Financial Statements.
This figure shows how reformulated income statements, balance sheets, and the cash flow
statements report the operating and financing activities of a business, and how the stocks and flows
in Figure 7.3 are identified in the financial statements. Operating income increases net operating
assets and net financial expense increases net financial obligations. Free cash flow is a “dividend”
from the operating activities to the financing activities: Free cash flow reduces net operating assets
and also reduces net financial obligations. Net dividends to shareholders are paid out of net
financial obligations.
Income Statement
NIt = OIt – NFEt
Balance Sheet
Net Operating Assets
NOAt = NOAt-1 + OIt – (Ct–It)
Net Financial Obligations
NFOt = NFOt-1 + NFEt – (Ct–It) + dt
CSEt = CSEt-1 + OIt – NFEt – dt
Cash Flow Statement
(Ct – It) = dt + Ft
That is, common equity is driven by comprehensive earnings and is reduced by net
dividends. The expressions for NOA and NFO (equations 7.5 and 7.6b) also have a driver
and a dividend. NOA is driven by operating income and reduced by a “dividend,” free cash
flow that is paid to the financing activities. And the net financial obligations are driven by
the free cash flow received from the operating activities along with the financial expense
they themselves incur, and they pay a dividend to the shareholders.
The aim of the accounting system is to track value created for shareholders. The stocks
and flows equation for shareholders indeed says this: Owners’ equity is driven by a valueadded measure, comprehensive income, and reduced by net distributions to owners. But
common equity is also the net total of stocks in the balance sheet, the difference between
net operating assets and net financial obligations:
CSEt = NOAt − NFOt
So changes in common equity are driven by the drivers that change NOA and NFO.
Figure 7.5 depicts how common shareholders’ equity is generated by NOA and NFO.
Line 1 explains the change in net operating assets from the beginning of a period and line 2
explains the change in net financial obligations. Line 3 explains the change in common equity (for the case of net financial obligations). The difference between the flows for NOA
and NFO (line 1 minus line 2) explains the flow for common equity. The change in the common equity is explained by comprehensive earnings minus net dividends, but it is also
explained by the flows that explain the net operating assets and net financial obligations.
You’ll notice in this explanation of the change in shareholders’ equity that although the
free cash flow affects NOA and NFO, free cash flow drops out in the difference between the
two when explaining the change in shareholders’ equity: Take line 2 from line 1 to get line 3
246
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
FIGURE 7.5 Change in Common Stockholders’ Equity Is Explained by Changes (Flows)
in Net Operating Assets (NOA) and Net Financial Obligations (NFO).
Take line 2 from line 1 and you see that free cash flow (C − I ) does not affect the change in
common stockholders’ equity.
Beginning stocks(t – 1)
Flows
Ending stocks(t)
(1) NOAt–1
OIt – (Ct – It)
NOAt
(2) NFOt–1
NFEt – (Ct – It) + dt
NFOt
(3) CSEt–1
OIt – NFEt – dt
CSEt
Earnings
and free cash flow drops out. The accounting says that free cash flow does not add value to
shareholders. Free cash flow is a driver of the net financial position, not the operating activities, and the amount of free cash flow is irrelevant in determining the value of owners’
equity. Rather, the profits from operating activities (OI) and financing activities (NFE),
which together give earnings, increase or decrease shareholder wealth. Free cash flow is just
a dividend of excess cash from the operating activities to the financing activities, not a measure of the value added from selling products. And free cash flows, just like dividends to
shareholders, have little to do with value generated.
This makes eminent sense. Both Microsoft and General Electric in Boxes 7.1 and 7.2
have added tremendous value for shareholders. Microsoft has large positive free cash flow.
General Electric has large negative free cash flow. But it does not matter. Accrual accounting gets it right.
The explanations for the changes in NOA, NFO, and CSE work only if earnings refer to
comprehensive income. Accordingly, the accounting for operating income and net financial
expense must also be comprehensive: We must include all relevant flows in operating
income and net financial expense. And the accounting must be clean: We must not mix
financing flows with operating flows or financing assets and liabilities with operating assets
and liabilities. See Box 7.3.
STOCKS AND FLOWS RATIOS: BUSINESS PROFITABILITY
The separation of operating and financing activities in the income statement identifies
profit flows from the two activities. The corresponding stocks in the balance sheet identify
the net assets or obligations put in place to generate the profit flows for the two activities.
The comparison of the flows to the stocks yields ratios that measure profitability as a rate
of return:
Return on net operating assets (RNOAt ) =
Return on net financial assets (RNFAt ) =
1
2
1
2
OIt
( NOAt + NOAt −1 )
NFIt
( NFAt + NFAt −1 )
Summary Financial Statements and the
Articulating Accounting Relations for Nike, Inc.
7.3
The 2008 financial statements for Nike, Inc., the athletic footwear manufacturer, are given in Exhibit 2.3 in Chapter 2. Reformulation of financial statements involves rearranging the statements according to the design in this chapter. We will go into the
detail of reformulating Nike’s statements in Chapter 9. To add some live numbers to the rather cryptic presentation you have
just gone through, the main summary numbers from Nike’s reformulated balance sheets and income statement are given below,
along with a demonstration of the accounting relations that tie them together.
You will see something significant. We do not have to develop a reformulated free cash flow statement from the GAAP cash
flow statement. It is implied by the balance sheet and income statement using the accounting relations.
NIKE, INC.
Reformulated Balance Sheet
(in millions of dollars)
2008
2007
Operating assets (OA)
Operating liabilities (OL)
9,760
3,954
7,923
2,984
Net operating assets
5,806
4,939
Financial assets (FA)
Financial obligations (FO)
Net financial obligations
Common shareholders equity (CSE)
Total NFO + CSE
2008
2007
2,683
692
(1,991)
7,797
5,806
2,765
586
(2,179)
7,118
4,939
Balance sheet relations:
NOA = OA − OL
= 9,760 − 3,954 = 5,806
NFO = FO − FA
= 692 − 2,683
= (1,991)
(a net financial asset position)
CSE = NOA − NFO = 5,806 + 1,991 = 7,797
Reformulated Income Statement, 2008
Operating income (OI)
Net financial income (NFI)
Comprehensive income (CI)
1,883
49
1,932
Income statement relations:
CI = OI + NFI = 1,883 + 49 = 1,932
Articulating relations between statements:
The stocks and flows equation for equity:
CSE2008 = CSE2007 + CI2008 − d2008 = 7,118 + 1,932 − 1,253 = 7,797
The free cash flow generation and disposition equations:
C − I = OI − ΔNOA = 1,883 − 867 = 1,016
C − I = ΔNFA − NFI + d = −188 − 49 + 1,253 = 1,016
The stocks and flows equation for operating activities:
NOA2008 = NOA2007 + OI2008 − (C − I)2008 = 4,939 + 1,883 − 1,016 = 5,806
The stocks and flows equation for financing activities:
NFA2008 = NFA2007 + NFI2008 + (C − I)2008 − d2008 = 2,179 + 49 + 1,016 − 1,253 = 1,991
Using the free cash flow generation and disposition equations, we have calculated free cash flow without a cash
flow statement. By the cash conservation equation, the debt financing cash flow is F = C − I − d, that is, for Nike, F = 1,016 −
1,253 = −237.
(Continued)
247
Summary Financial Statements and the
Articulating Accounting Relations for Nike, Inc.
7.3
Now, having calculated all the components of the cash flow statement, the reformulated cash flow statement can be
constructed as follows:
Reformulated Cash Flow Statement, 2008
Free cash flow
1,016
Equity financing flows:
Net dividend to shareholders (d)
Debt Financing flows:
Net cash to debtholders/issuers (F)
1,253
(237)
1,016
The numbers here are summary numbers, and more detail can be added by displaying the components of these numbers.
Chapters 9 and 10 take you through it.
RNOA is sometimes called return on invested capital (ROIC) or, confusingly with respect
to our use of ROCE, return on capital employed (a different ROCE). Denominators are
calculated as the average of beginning and ending dollar amounts. If a firm has net interest
expense (and net financial obligations rather than net financial assets), the rate of return on
financing activities is called the net borrowing cost (NBC):
Net Borrowing cost (NBCt ) =
1
2
NFE t
( NFOt + NFOt −1 )
These ratios are primary ratios in the financial statement analysis we are about to
develop, for they summarize the profitability of the two aspects of business, the operating
activities and the financing activities, that have to be analyzed.
Summary
248
This chapter has laid out the bare bones of how a business works and how business activities are highlighted in reformulated financial statements. A series of accounting relations
describe the drivers of reformulated statements and connect the statements together. These
relations are summarized in the Analyst’s Toolkit below, and you should try to commit them
to memory. More importantly, you should appreciate what they are saying. Taken as a
whole, these relations outline how value is passed from shareholders to the firm in share
issues and, optimistically viewed, with value added passed back to shareholders. Figures 7.3
and 7.4 summarize this well. Put them firmly in your mind as you continue.
The chapter, indeed, is bare bones, and there is much flesh to be added in the following
chapters. You have been given the form of the reformulated statements that distinguish the
operating and financing activities of the firm, but the form has to be filled out. The distinction between the two types of activities is important for, as we observed in Chapter 3, it is the
operating activities that are typically the source of the value generation, so it is these
operating activities—and the return on net operating assets (RNOA)—that we will be particularly focused on as we analyze firms. Indeed, as we proceed with financial statement
analysis, we will work with reformulated statements, not the published GAAP statements.
The accounting relations that govern the reformulated statements are also tools for the
analyst. They explain how to pull the statements apart to get at the drivers. And they explain
Chapter 7 Viewing the Business Through the Financial Statements
249
how to manipulate the statements to express one component in terms of others. The relations are stated in stark, technical terms here, but they, too, will come to life as the analysis
develops. As a set, they provide the architecture for a spreadsheet program that can be used
to analyze reformulated statements and value firms. You will find yourself referring back to
them and, as you do, you will appreciate how the summary of the financial statements in
terms of the six relations (7.1–7.6) provides a succinct expression of the “story behind the
numbers.” It is now time to visit the Build Your Own Analysis Product (BYOAP) on the
book’s Web site. Refer to the Web Connection box that follows.
The Web Connection
BUILD YOUR OWN ANALYSIS PRODUCT
(BYOAP)
The structure laid out in this chapter is a template for
developing spreadsheets for analyzing the operating and
financing activities of a firm and valuing the firm. The
various accounting relations dictate the form that the
spreadsheet must take to have integrity, and you will need
to refer to these relations if you choose to develop your
own analysis and valuation spreadsheet product.
You will find that developing such a product will be
rewarding. Not only will you have a product that you can
take into your professional life (and, indeed, use for your
personal investing), but also the concepts will come alive as
you go “hands-on.” It is important that you develop a quality product. You do not want to lose any feature that is
important to the valuation. Applying the framework in this
chapter ensures that nothing is lost in your calculations.
Key Concepts
You are not ready to develop the product yet. As the
book proceeds, you will be able to build it using the architecture provided in this chapter, adding more bells and
whistles as you go along. The feature Build Your Own
Analysis Product (BYOAP) on the book’s Web site will
guide you in the practicalities. Rather than a final, off-theshelf product that you can appropriate, BYOAP is a guide
to building your own analysis product, so you learn as you
go and gain an understanding of the engineering involved.
With this understanding, you will be able to challenge the
features of off-the-shelf products and reach the conclusion
that yours is, indeed, a product with an edge.
For the moment, go to the BYOAP feature on the Web
site, and familiarize yourself with the layout. Nike is used
for illustration there. We will refer to BYOAP as we proceed to develop the analysis in subsequent chapters.
financial asset is an asset held to store
cash temporarily and which is liquidated
to invest in operations or pay dividends.
Also called marketable securities. 234
financial expense is an expense incurred
on financial obligations. 241
financial income is earnings on financial
assets. 241
financial obligation or financial liability
is an obligation incurred to raise cash for
operations or to pay dividends. 235
net financial expense is the difference
between financial expense and financial
income. If financial income is greater
than financial expense, it is referred to as
net financial income. 241
operating asset is an asset used in
operations (to generate value from selling
products and services). 239
operating expense is a loss of value from
selling products (in operations). 241
operating income is net value added from
operations. 241
operating liability is an obligation
incurred as part of operations (to generate
value from selling products and
services). 239
operating revenue is value gained from
selling products (in operations). 241
250
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
The Analyst’s Toolkit
Analysis Tools
Page
The treasurer’s rule
236
If C − I − i > d, then lend
or buy down debt
If C − I − i < d, then borrow
or reduce lending
Accounting relations
Cash conservation equation
C − I = d + F (7.1)
236
Free cash flow sources
equation
C − I = OI − ΔNOA (7.2)
242
Free cash flow disposition
equations
C − I = ΔNFA − NFI + d
(7.3a)
242
C − I = NFE − ΔNFO + d
(7.3b)
242
Dividend driver equations
d = C − I + NFI − ΔNFA
(7.4a)
243
d = C − I − NFE + ΔNFO
(7.4b)
243
Net operating asset driver
equation
ΔNOA = OI − (C − I) (7.5)
243
Net financial asset (or
obligation) driver equations
ΔNFA = NFI + (C − I) − d
243
(7.6a)
ΔNFO = NFE − (C − I) + d
(7.6b)
244
Key Measures
Page
Common stockholders’ equity
(CSE)
Financial assets (FA)
Financial obligations (FO)
Free cash flow
Net borrowing cost (NBC)
Net financial assets (NFA)
Net financial obligations (NFO)
Net financial expense (NFE)
Net financial income (NFI)
Net operating assets (NOA)
Operating asset (OA)
Operating expense (OE)
Operating income (OI)
Operating liabilities (OL)
Operating revenue (OR)
Return on net financial assets
(RNFA)
Return on net operating assets
(RNOA)
244
235
235
236
248
235
235
241
241
239
239
241
241
239
241
246
246
Acronyms to Remember
BYOAP Build Your Own Analysis
Product
CSE common shareholders’
equity
FA financial asset
FO financial obligation
NBC net borrowing cost
NFA net financial assets
NFE net financial expense
NFI net financial income
NFO net financial obligations
NOA net operating assets
OA operating assets
OE operating expense
OI operating income
OL operating liabilities
OR operating revenue
RNFA return on net financial
assets
RNOA return on net operating
assets
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
A Self-Study Exercise
Kimberly-Clark’s financial statements for 2004 are presented in Exhibit 2.2 as part of the
the continuing case for Chapter 2. Over the next three chapters, you will be reformulating
these statements following the design in this chapter. Then, in Chapters 11 and 12 you will
be performing a full analysis of the reformulated statements in preparation for valuing the
company in Part Three of the book. This module of the continuing case prepares you for
what is to come.
Chapter 7 Viewing the Business Through the Financial Statements
251
You will be helped by delving into the full 10-K report for 2004. Download it from the
SEC’s EDGAR Web site and go through the footnotes to the financial statements. You will
be referring to these footnotes constantly over the next few chapters, so get a sense of their
layout. The detail is not important at this stage, but do familiarize yourself with the broad
content. The KMB case for Chapter 2 gives download instructions. If, for some reason, you
have difficulty downloading the 10-K, it is on the Web page for this chapter on the book’s
Web site.
THE TREASURER’S RULE
Using the cash flow statement for 2004 in Exhibit 2.2 in Chapter 2 and any other information you glean from the 10-K, lay out the sequence that concludes with the treasurer’s trading in debt, as in Box 7.1.
Now take this information and present it in the form of a summary cash flow statement
(as in Box 7.2) that obeys the equation: Free cash flow = Distributions to shareholders +
Distributions to net debtholders. One question you will have to resolve is the treatment of
the increase in cash of $303.4 million over the year.
IDENTIFYING OPERATING ACTIVITIES
The rationale for the reformulation on the financial statement sketched out in this chapter
is to separate operating activities from financing activities. Typically value is generated in
operating activities—trading with customers and suppliers—not in financing activities that
merely involve passing cash to and from investors. Reformulation sets us up to examine
value added. You will carry out a full reformulation of Kimberly-Clark’s balance sheet and
income statement in Chapter 9. For now, go through the balance sheet and income statement in Exhibit 2.2 and identify those items you think are involved in operations and those
involved in financing activities. If you are ambitious, you can follow through and calculate
totals for net operating assets, net financial obligations, operating income, and net financial
expenses, as in Box 7.3, but you best wait until Chapter 9.
Concept
Questions
C7.1. Why can free cash flow be regarded as a dividend, that is, as a distribution of value
rather than the value created?
C7.2. A firm has positive free cash flow and a net dividend to shareholders that is less
than free cash flow. What must it do with the excess of the free cash flow over the
dividend?
C7.3. How can a firm pay a dividend with zero free cash flow?
C7.4. Distinguish an operating asset from a financial asset.
C7.5. Distinguish an operating liability from a financial liability.
C7.6. If an analyst has reformulated balance sheets and income statements, she does not
need a cash flow statement to calculate free cash flow. True or false?
C7.7. What drives free cash flow?
C7.8. What drives dividends?
C7.9. What drives net operating assets?
C7.10. What drives net financial obligations?
C7.11. Free cash flow does not affect common shareholders’ equity. True or false?
252
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
Exercises
Drill Exercises
E7.1.
Applying the Cash Conservation Equation (Easy)
a. A firm generated $143 million in free cash flow and paid a net dividend of $49 million
to shareholders. How much was paid to debtholders and debt issuers?
b. A firm paid a dividend to shareholders of $162 million and repurchased stock for
$53 million. There were no share issues. The firm received net cash of $86 million from
debt financing transactions. What was its free cash flow?
E7.2.
Applying the Treasurer’s Rule (Medium)
a. A firm generated free cash flow of $2,348 million and paid net interest of $23 million
after tax. It paid a dividend of $14 million and issued shares for $54 million. There
were no share repurchases. What did the treasurer do with the remaining cash flow and
for how much?
b. A firm generated a negative free cash flow of $1,857 million, but the board of directors,
understanding that the firm was quite profitable, maintained the dividend of $1.25 per
share on the 840 million shares outstanding. The firm also paid $32 million in net
interest (after tax). What are the responses open to the treasurer?
E7.3.
Balance Sheet and Income Statement Relations (Easy)
a. A firm holding $432 million in interest-bearing financial assets and with financing debt
of $1,891 million, reported shareholders’ equity of $597 million. What were its net
financial assets? What were its net operating assets?
b. The same firm reported $108 million in comprehensive income and net financial
expense, after tax, of $47 million. What was its after-tax operating income?
E7.4.
Using Accounting Relations (Medium)
Below are a balance sheet and an income statement that have been reformulated according
to the templates laid out in this chapter.
Balance Sheet
Assets
Operating assets
Financial assets
Liabilities and Equity
2009
2008
205.3
45.7
189.9
42.0
251.0
231.9
Operating liabilities
Financial liabilities
Shareholders’ equity
2009
2008
40.6
120.4
90.0
251.0
34.2
120.4
77.3
231.9
Income Statement
2009
Operating revenues
Operating expenses
Operating income
Interest revenues
Interest expenses
Comprehensive income
a.
b.
c.
d.
How much was paid out in net dividends during 2009?
What is free cash flow for 2009?
What was the return on net operating assets in 2009?
What was the firm’s net borrowing cost?
134.5
(112.8)
21.7
2.5
(9.6)
14.6
Chapter 7 Viewing the Business Through the Financial Statements
E7.5.
253
Using Accounting Relations (Medium)
Below are financial statements that have been reformulated using the templates in this
chapter. Some items are missing; they are indicated by capital letters.
Income Statement
Six Months to June 30, 2009
Revenues
A
Operating expenses
Cost of sales
Research and development expenses
Selling, administrative, and general expenses
Other operating expenses, including taxes
Operating income after tax
Net financial expenses after tax
Interest expense
Interest income
Comprehensive income
2,453
507
2,423
2,929
153
C
B
850
59
791
Balance Sheet
June 30, 2009
Operating assets
Financial assets
June
2009
December
2008
28,631
D
30,024
4,238
33,088
E
Operating liabilities
Financial liabilities
Common equity
June
2009
December
2008
G
7,424
18,470
33,088
8,747
6,971
H
F
Cash Flow Statement
Six Months Ending June 30, 2009
Cash flow from operations
Cash investment
Free cash flow
Net dividends (dividends and share repurchases – share issues)
Payment to net debtholders
Total financing flows
a.
b.
c.
d.
E7.6.
584
I
J
K
L
M
Supply the missing numbers using the accounting relations laid out in this chapter.
What were the total new operating accruals in the first half of 2009?
How much new net debt was issued during this period?
What generated the net dividend in the period?
Inferences Using Accounting Relations (Hard)
A firm with no financial assets or financial obligations generated free cash flow of
$8.4 million in 2009. At the end of 2008 it had a market value of $224 million, or 1.6 times
book value. At the end of 2009 it had a market value of $238 million, twice book value.
a. What was the rate of return from investing in the stock of this firm for 2009?
b. What were the earnings for this firm for 2009?
254
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
Applications
E7.7.
Applying the Treasurer’s Rule: Microsoft Corporation (Medium)
At the end of its June 30, 2008, fiscal year, Microsoft Corporation reported $23.7 billion
in short-term interest-bearing investments and cash equivalents. The firm had no debt
obligations. Subsequently, in September of that year, the firm announced a $40 billion stock
repurchase and its intention to raise the annual dividend to 52 cents a share, from 44 cents,
or to a total of $4.7 billion.
Cash flow from operations for fiscal year 2009 was projected to be $23.4 billion, up
from $21.6 billion for 2008; interest receipts were expected to be $702 million; and the firm
was expected to maintain cash investment at the 2008 level of $3.2 billion. Cash receipts
from the issue of shares to employees (including tax benefits) were expected to be $2.5 billion. The firm’s tax rate is 36 percent.
a. By applying the treasurer’s rule, lay out the strategy for Microsoft’s treasurer for
managing cash flows.
b. Microsoft is actively looking for acquisitions to enhance its presence in the Web search
and Web applications area. What would be the effect on the treasurer’s plan if
Microsoft decided to make a $4.2 billion cash acquisition?
c. For many years, Microsoft has carried no debt (obligations). At the time of the share
repurchase announcement, Microsoft also said that it had received authorization from
its board of directors for debt financing up to $6 billion. Why would the management
seek such authorization at this stage?
Real World Connection
Exercises dealing with Microsoft are E1.6, E4.14, E6.13, E8.10, E10.11, E17.10, and
E19.4. Also see Minicases M8.1 and M12.2.
E7.8.
Accounting Relations for Kimberly-Clark Corporation (Medium)
Below are summary numbers from reformulated balance sheets for 2007 and 2006 for
Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the paper products company, along with numbers from the
reformulated income statement for 2007 (in millions).
Operating assets
Operating liabilities
Financial assets
Financial obligations
Operating income (after tax)
Net financial expense (after tax)
2007
2006
$18,057.0
6,011.8
382.7
6,496.4
$16,796.2
5,927.2
270.8
4,395.4
2,740.1
147.1
a. Calculate the following for 2007 and 2006:
(i) Net operating assets.
(ii) Net financial obligations.
(iii) Shareholders’ equity.
b. Calculate free cash flow for 2007.
c. Show that the accounting relation for change in net operating assets (equation 7.5 in
the chapter) works for Kimberly-Clark.
d. What was the net payment to shareholders (the net dividend) in 2007?
Real World Connection
Follow Kimberly-Clark through the continuing case at the end of each chapter. Also see
Exercises E4.8, E6.14, E10.10, and E11.16, and Minicase M5.3.
Chapter Eight
LINKS
Link to previous chapter
Chapter 7 laid out a design
for financial statements
that prepares them for
analysis.
The Analysis
of the Statement
of Shareholders’ Equity
This chapter
This chapter reformulates
the statement of owners'
equity according to the
design in Chapter 7. The
reformulation highlights
comprehensive income.
How is the
statement of
owners' equity
reformulated
to highlight the
information it
contains?
How is
dirty-surplus
income treated in
the reformulation?
What is hidden
dirty-surplus
income?
Link to next chapter
Chapter 9 continues the
reformulation with the
balance sheet and the
income statement.
Link to Web page
For more applications of
Chapter 8 content, visit
the text's Web site at
www.mhhe.com/
penman4e.
The statement of shareholders’ equity is usually not considered the most important part of
the financial statements and is often ignored in analysis. However, it is the first statement
that the analyst should examine before going on to the other statements. It is a summary
statement, tying together all transactions that affect shareholders’ equity. By analyzing the
statement, the analyst ensures that all aspects of the business that affect shareholders’ equity are included in his analysis to value the equity.
We saw in Part One of the book that when accounting income is used in valuation, it
must be comprehensive income. Otherwise value is lost in the calculation. The accounting
relations in the last chapter hold only if income is comprehensive. We will use these relations as analysis tools in later chapters, but the tools will work only if income is on a comprehensive basis. Unfortunately, earnings reported in most income statements in most
countries is not comprehensive, including earnings reported in statements prepared under
U.S. GAAP and international accounting standards. The analysis of the statement of shareholders’ equity makes the correction.
Value is generated for equity holders through operations, not by equity financing activities. We saw in Chapter 3 that share issues and repurchases at market value do not create
value in efficient capital markets. But share issues are sometimes made in exchange for
goods and services in operations, mostly for employee compensation. Unfortunately, GAAP
Chapter 8 The Analysis of the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity 257
The Analyst’s Checklist
After reading this chapter you should understand:
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
• How statements of shareholders’ equity are typically
laid out.
• Reformulate a statement of shareholders’ equity.
• Why reformulation of the statement is necessary.
• What is reported in “other comprehensive income”
and where it is reported.
• What “dirty-surplus” items appear in the statement of
shareholders’ equity.
• How stock options work to compensate employees.
• How stock options and other contingent equity claims
result in a hidden expense.
• How management can create value (and losses) for
shareholders with share transactions.
• How accounting hides losses from share transactions.
• Distinguish the creation of value from the distribution
of value in the equity statement.
• Calculate the net payout to shareholders.
• Calculate comprehensive income and comprehensive
ROCE from the equity statement.
• Calculate payout and retention ratios.
• Calculate a growth rate for common shareholders’
equity and analyze its components.
• Calculate the expense from exercise of stock options.
• Calculate gains and losses from put options.
• Calculate losses from the conversion of securities into
common stock.
and IFRS accounting sometimes confuses the financing and operating aspects of these
transactions; that is, it confuses the moneys raised for financing with the expenses incurred in
operations. The analysis of the statement of shareholders’ equity sorts out this accounting.
REFORMULATING THE STATEMENT OF OWNERS’ EQUITY
The statement of owners’ equity provides the reconciliation of beginning and ending owners’ equity according to the stocks and flows equation introduced in Chapter 2: The change
in owners’ equity is explained by comprehensive income for the period plus capital contributions from share issues, less dividends paid in cash and stock repurchases. The GAAP
statement is often—and unnecessarily—more complicated than this, however, so part of the
analysis involves simplifying it. The ideal statement for a fiscal period has the following
form:
Reformulated Statement of Common Shareholders’ Equity
Beginning book value of common equity
+ Net effect of transactions with common shareholders
+ Capital contributions (share issues)
− Share repurchases
− Dividends
= Net cash contribution (negative net dividends)
+ Effect of operations and nonequity financing
+ Net income (from income statement)
+ Other comprehensive income
− Preferred dividends
= Comprehensive income available to common
Closing book value of common equity
258
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
Notice three things about this statement:
1. With a view to valuing the common shareholders’ equity, the reformulated statement
excludes preferred equity. From the common shareholders’ point of view, the preferred
equity is an obligation to pay other claimants before themselves, and it is treated as a
liability. So the beginning and ending balances refer only to common shareholders’
equity.
2. The net addition to common equity from transactions with shareholders—the negative
net dividend—is separated from the addition to shareholders’ equity that arises from
business activities.
3. The total effect of operations and nonequity financing on the common shareholders is
isolated in comprehensive income. This has three components: net income reported in
the income statement, other comprehensive income reported outside the income statement, and preferred dividends. As preferred stock is effectively debt from the common
shareholders’ viewpoint, preferred dividends are an “expense” in calculating comprehensive income, just like interest expense.
Introducing Nike
The analysis of financial statements in this and subsequent chapters will be demonstrated
with the 2008 statements of Nike, Inc., the sport and leisure footware company. You will
find it helpful to see a complete analysis of this firm. The Build Your Own Analysis Product (BYOAP) feature on the book’s Web site, introduced at the end of the last chapter, takes
the Nike analysis back to earlier years. After covering the material in the book and in that
Web module, you will have a complete analysis history for Nike for a 10-year period,
1999–2008. Take the Nike analysis in the book and in BYOAP as a model for the analysis
of any firm, and use the roadmap in BYOAP to develop spreadsheets that deliver a concrete
analysis and valuation product. You can view Nike’s full 2008 financial statements in Minicase M2.1 in Chapter 2.
We emphasized in Chapter 1 that the first step in analysis and valuation is “knowing the
business.” Nike is no doubt familiar to you: Its logo is visible on the clothes and shoes that
many of us wear, from the greatest sports stars to the smallest of kid pretenders. Box 8.1
gives some further background on the company; however, in practice a much deeper understanding of a firm is required to carry out a capable analysis. For a start, check the Business Section (Item 1) of the firms 10-K report on EDGAR.
Reformulation Procedures
Exhibit 8.1 presents the GAAP statement of shareholders’ equity for Nike, along with reformulated statements in the form of the template on the previous page. Flags to the right
of the GAAP statement indicate which items are transactions with shareholders (T) and
which are components of comprehensive income (CI).
Reformulation follows three steps.
1. Restate beginning and ending balances for the period for items that are not part of common shareholders’ equity:
a. Preferred Stock: Preferred stock is included in shareholders’ equity in the GAAP
statement, but it is a liability for the common shareholders. So reduce the balances
by the amount of preferred stock in those balances (and ignore any preferred stock
transactions during the period in the reformulation). An exception is mandatory
redeemable preferred stock which, under GAAP, is not part of equity but rather is
Knowing the Business: Nike, Inc.
Incorporated in 1968, Nike (www.nike.com) is a leading manufacturer and marketer of sport and fashion footwear. The firm
is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon.
STRATEGY
Nike aims to dominate the worldwide market for athletic
footwear and athletic footwear used for casual and leisure
dress. It attempts to accomplish this through extensive promotion, often using high-profile sports figures and endorsements of sporting events.
OPERATIONS
Nike’s top-selling footwear are basketball, training, running,
and children’s shoes, but it also sells tennis, soccer, golf,
baseball, football, bicycling, and other footwear, as well as
apparel, brand-name sports equipment, and accessories. It
sells its products through retail outlets in the United States
and around the world and through independent distributors
and licensees. About 43 percent of Nike’s sales in 2008 were
in the United States.
The firm maintains an active research and development
effort to improve its products. Most of its manufacturing facilities are outside the United States, in Asia and South America.
It has approximately 32,500 employees, but much of the manufacturing is through independent contractors.
8.1
The market for footwear is highly competitive, with Puma
and Adidas being major competitors. Changes in consumer
preferences, changes in technology, and competition are seen
as the main risk factors.
EQUITY FINANCING
Two classes of common shares have equal shares in profits. A
total of 491.1 million shares were outstanding at the end of
fiscal 2008. Nike has a continuing stock repurchase program
and pays dividends. A small number of redeemable preferred
shares are held by an Asian supplier.
The company has an active stock compensation plan for
employees. In fiscal 2008, options on 6.9 million shares were
granted and options on 9.1 million shares were exercised at a
weighted-average exercise price of $33.45 per share.
SUMMARY DATA
Basic earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share
Dividends per share
Book value per share
Price per share, end of year
2008
2007
2006
$ 3.80
3.74
0.88
15.93
67.20
$ 2.96
2.93
0.71
14.00
55.60
$ 2.69
2.64
0.59
12.28
40.00
reported on the balance sheet in a “mezzanine” between liabilities and equity. Nike’s
preferred stock is redeemable, so no adjustment is required.
b. Dividends Payable. GAAP requires dividends payable to common shareholders to be
reported as a liability. But shareholders cannot owe dividends to themselves. And dividends payable do not provide debt financing. Common dividends payable are part of
the equity that the common shareholders have in the firm. So instead of reporting them
as liabilities, reclassify them to the balances of shareholders’ equity, as explained in
the notes to Nike’s reformulated statement in Exhibit 8.1.
c. Under FASB Statement 123R, applied for the first time in 2007, and under the similar international accounting standard, IFRS 2, firms must book the grant-date value
of stock options granted to employees as deferred compensation, with the corresponding credit going to shareholders’ equity ($141 million in Nike’s 2008 statement). While the option grant is indeed compensation to the employee, the credit to
shareholders’ equity is clearly wrong: It looks as if an expense increased shareholders’ equity in the firm. Rather, stock options are (contingent) liabilities to the shareholders: The shareholders are liable to lose equity—not add to their equity—if the
options go into the money and employees are issued shares, on exercise of the options, at less than market price. We will accommodate this “bad” accounting later in
this chapter, but for the moment take the offending $141 million out of the statement
and adjust the closing balance of shareholders’ equity accordingly. See the note to
Nike’s reformulated statement.
259
260
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
EXHIBIT 8.1 GAAP Statement and Reformulated Statement of Common Shareholders’ Equity for Nike, Inc.,
May 31, 2008
The reformulated statement separates transactions with shareholders from comprehensive income. The flags on the right of the
GAAP statement indicate transactions with shareholders (T) and comprehensive income (CI).
NIKE, INC.
GAAP Statement of Shareholders’ Equity
(in millions, except per share data)
Common Stock
Capital in
Class A
Class B
Excess of
Shares Amount Shares Amount Stated Value
Balance at May 31, 2007
117.6
$0.1
Stock options exercised
Conversion to Class B common
stock
384.1
$2.7
9.1
(20.8)
$1,960.0
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive Retained
Income (Loss) Earnings
$177.4
$4,885.2
372.2
—
(20.6)
(12.3)
1.0
39.2
Dividends on common stock
($0.875 per share)
Issuance of shares to employees
Stock-based compensation:
(Notes 1 and 10):
(1,235.7)
(1,248.0) (T)
(432.8)
(432.8) (T)
39.2 (T)
141.0
Forfeiture of shares from employees
$7,025.4
372.2 (T)
20.8
Repurchase of Class B common
stock
Total
(0.1)
141.0
(2.3)
Comprehensive income (Note 13):
Net income
Other comprehensive income:
Foreign currency translation and
other (net of tax expense of
$101.6)
Realized foreign currency
translation gain due to
divestiture (Note 15)
Net loss on cash flow hedges
(net of tax benefit of $67.7)
(1.1)
(3.4) (T)
1,883.4
1,883.4 (CI)
211.9
211.9 (CI)
(46.3)
(46.3) (CI)
(175.8)
(175.8) (CI)
Net loss on net investment
hedges (net of tax benefit
of $25.1)
(43.5)
(43.5) (CI)
Reclassification to net income of
previously deferred losses
related to hedge derivatives
(net of tax benefit of $49.6)
127.7
127.7 (CI)
Comprehensive income
74.0
Adoption of FIN 48 (Notes 1 and 8)
(15.6)
Adoption of EITF 06-2 Sabbaticals
(net of tax benefit of $6.2)
(Note 1)
Balance at May 31, 2008
1,883.4
(10.1)
96.8
$0.1
394.3
$2.7
$2,497.8
$251.4
Note: Footnotes to the 10-K indicate Nike had $112.9 million in dividends payable at the end of 2008 and $92.9 million at the end of 2007.
$5,073.3
1,957.4
(15.6) (CI)
(10.1) (CI)
$7,825.3
Chapter 8 The Analysis of the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity 261
Reformulated Statement of Common Equity
Balance at May 31, 2007
Transactions with shareholders
Stock issued for stock options
Stock issued to employees (net)
Stock repurchased
Cash dividends
$372.2
35.8
(1,248.0)
(412.8)
Comprehensive income
Net income reported
Net translation gains and losses
Net hedging gains and losses
Prior earnings restatements
1,883.4
165.6
(91.6)
(25.7)
$7,118.3
(1,252.8)
1,931.8
Balance at May 31, 2008
7,797.3
Note: The beginning balance in the reformulated statement is calculated as follows:
Reported balance
$7,025.4
Dividends payable
92.9
$7,118.3
The ending balance is calculated as follows:
Reported balance
$7,825.4
Dividends payable
112.9
Stock-based compensation
(141.0)
$7,797.3
2. Calculate net transactions with shareholders (the net dividend). This calculation nets
dividends and stock repurchases against cash from share issues, as in the exhibits. Dividends must be cash dividends (calculated as follows), and not dividends declared as
dividends payable:
Cash dividends = Dividends reported + Change in dividends payable
With dividends payable of $92.9 million and $112.9 million at the end of 2007 and
2008, respectively, Nike’s cash dividends paid are $432.8 + 92.9 − 112.9 = $412.8 million, which is the number for cash dividends in the cash flow statement.
3. Calculate comprehensive income. Comprehensive income combines net income and
other income reported in the equity statement. Besides net income, the GAAP statement
for Nike reports currency translation gains and losses and gains and losses on hedging
instruments. You can see in the GAAP statement that a total is drawn for comprehensive
income after these items. But comprehensive income also includes the two items under
this total for the adjustments to prior years’ income for changes in accounting methods:
These are changes to shareholders’ equity from (measuring) business income. The income reported outside net income is referred to as other comprehensive income, so
comprehensive income is net income plus other comprehensive income. Note that all
items in other comprehensive income are after tax. That is, they are reported net of any
tax that they draw.
You will notice in this reformulation that we have not made any use of the distinction
between stated value (or par value) of shares and additional (or excess) paid-in capital. This
is of no importance for equity analysis; better to know the company’s telephone number
than the par value of its stock. Retained earnings is a mixture of accumulated earnings, dividends, share repurchases, and stock dividends, and it does not bear on the analysis. Conversions of one class of common to another with zero effect do not change the book value
of equity (as with Nike). Nor do stock splits or stock dividends change the book value of
equity; splits change the number of shares but do not change a given shareholder’s claim.
262
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
DIRTY-SURPLUS ACCOUNTING
Reporting income items as part of equity rather than in an income statement is known as
dirty-surplus accounting. An equity statement that has no income other than net income
from the income statement is a clean-surplus accounting statement. The terms are pejorative, and appropriately so. Under dirty-surplus accounting, the income in the income
statement is not “clean,” it is not complete. “Net” income or profit, as used under GAAP
and international accounting standards, is really a misnomer.
Table 8.1 lists the dirty-surplus items you are likely to see in the United States. Income
items are designated as part of operating income or financial income (expense) to categorize them in a reformulated income statement (later). Some of the items you will rarely see.
The three most common are unrealized gains and losses on securities, foreign currency
translation gains and losses, and unrealized gains and losses on certain derivatives.
1. Unrealized gains and losses on securities available for sale. FASB Statement No. 115
distinguishes three types of securities:
• Trading securities
• Securities available for sale
• Securities held to maturity
Trading securities are those held in a portfolio that is actively traded. These securities
are marked to market value in the balance sheet and the unrealized gains and losses
from changes in market value are reported in the income statement. Securities that are
not actively traded but which might be sold before maturity are available for sale.
These also are marked to “fair” market value but the unrealized gains and losses are
reported as part of other comprehensive income. Securities that management intends
to hold to maturity are recorded at cost on the balance sheet, so no unrealized gains
and losses are reported. Realized gains and losses on all types of securities are
reported in the income statement as part of net income. The rules apply to both debt
securities and equity securities involving less than 20 percent ownership interest. Go
to Accounting Clinic III.
2. Foreign currency translation gains and losses. The assets and liabilities of majorityowned foreign subsidiaries, measured in the foreign currency, must be consolidated into
the statements of a U.S. parent in U.S. dollars. If the exchange rate changes over the reporting period, the value of the assets and liabilities changes in U.S. dollars. The resulting gain or loss is a translation gain or loss, to be distinguished from gains and losses on
foreign currency transactions. Most transaction gains and losses are reported as part of
net income. Translation gains and losses are part of other comprehensive income.
Translation gains and losses can apply to both the operating and financing assets and
liabilities of subsidiaries, so their income can affect operating or financing income as
indicated in Table 8.1.
3. Gains and losses on derivative instruments. FASB Statement No. 133 requires most
derivatives to be marked to fair value on the balance sheet, either as assets or liabilities. If the instrument hedges an existing asset or liability or a firm commitment by the
company—a so-called fair value hedge—the gain or loss from marking the instrument to fair value is recorded as part of net income. (Under certain conditions, the
gain or loss is offset in the income statement by the gain or loss on the hedged item.)
If the instrument hedges the cash flow from an anticipated future transaction—a
so-called cash flow hedge—the gain or loss is recorded to the equity statement, and
Chapter 8 The Analysis of the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity 263
TABLE 8.1
Operating Income Items
Dirty-Surplus
Accounting: U.S.
GAAP
All dirty-surplus
income items are
reported net of tax.
Changes in accounting for contingencies (FASB Statement No. 11)
Additional minimum pension liability (FASB Statement No. 87)
Tax benefits of loss carryforwards acquired (FASB Statement No. 109)
Tax benefits of dividends paid to ESOPs (FASB Statement No. 109)
Unrealized gains and losses on equity securities available for sale
(FASB Statement No. 115)
Some adjustments of deferred tax valuation allowances (FASB Statement No. 109)
Change in funding status of pension plans (FASB Statement No. 158)
Financing Income (or Expense) Items
Preferred dividends
Unrealized gains and losses on debt securities available for sale (FASB Statement No. 115)
Operating or Financing Income Items
Foreign currency translation gains and losses (FASB Statement No. 52)
Gains and losses on derivative instruments designated as cash-flow hedges
(FASB Statement No. 133)
Restatements of prior years’ income due to a change in accounting principles (FASB
Statement No. 154)
Balance Sheet Items to Be Reclassified
Credits to shareholders’ equity for stock compensation expense (FASB Statement No. 123R)
Dividends payable
then removed from the equity statement to net income when the hedged transaction
affects earnings.1
Comprehensive Income Reporting under U.S. GAAP and IFRS
FASB Statement No. 130 requires comprehensive income to be identified in the financial
statements. It distinguishes net income from other comprehensive income and permits the
sum of the two, comprehensive income, to be reported in one of three ways:
1. Report comprehensive income in the statement of shareholders’ equity by adding net
income to other comprehensive income items reported in the equity statement.
2. Add other comprehensive income to net income in the income statement, and close the
total comprehensive income to shareholders’ equity.
3. Present a separate statement of other comprehensive income apart from the income
statement, and close it to equity along with net income from the income statement.
1
See M. A. Trombley, Accounting for Derivatives and Hedging (New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2003) for
a primer on the accounting for derivatives. As these hedging gains and losses will be matched against
realized gains and losses on the hedged items in subsequent income statements, they are more appropriately classified as deferred income or deferred charges in the liability and asset sections of the balance
sheet. We leave them in the equity statement here to maintain the reported number for comprehensive
income. But note that they represent income that is likely to be reversed in subsequent periods when the
corresponding gains and losses on the hedged items are recognized on termination of the hedge.
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Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
III
Accounting Clinic
ACCOUNTING FOR MARKETABLE SECURITIES
Further detail on the accounting for securities is covered
in Accounting Clinic III on the book’s Web site. The clinic
covers debt securities held by firms and equity securities
representing less than 20 percent interest in other corporations. The accounting for equity investments of more
than 20 percent is covered in Accounting Clinic V.
Most firms follow the first approach.2 So you now observe dirty-surplus income items
added together into a number called “other comprehensive income” and other comprehensive income and net income added to “total comprehensive income”—all within the equity
statement. This presentation facilitates the task of identifying comprehensive income.
However, it is not, in fact, comprehensive from the common shareholders’ point of view.
First, it omits preferred dividends, and, second, certain hidden items (which we will identify toward the end of this chapter) are not included.
Other comprehensive income under IFRS consists of items similar to those in the United
States, with the addition of actuarial gains and losses on pension assets and asset revaluation gains and losses. Up to 2009, firms could elect to report other comprehensive income
in a statement of recognized income expense, outside of both the income statement and the
equity statement. Under IAS 1 (Revised 2007), effective from 2009 on, this separate statement disappears. Firms will choose to report a single statement of comprehensive income
or two statements, a statement of operations and a statement of comprehensive income. The
revised IAS 1 will not permit comprehensive income to be displayed in the statement of
changes in shareholders’ equity (as is permitted under GAAP).
RATIO ANALYSIS
What does the reformatted statement of changes in owners’ equity reveal? It gives the
growth in equity over a period. And it distinguishes clearly between the growth in equity
from new investment or disinvestment by the owners and additions to equity from running
the business. Accordingly, the reformulated statement distinguishes the creation of value
from the distribution of value. Indeed, both return on common equity (ROCE) and growth
in equity—the two drivers of residual earnings—can be identified in the statement. A set of
ratios analyzes the statement to refine this information.
Payout and Retention Ratios
The disinvestment by shareholders is described by payout and retention ratios. The standard
dividend payout ratio is the proportion of income paid out in cash dividends:
Dividend payout =
Dividends
Comprehensive income
A calculation that you commonly see compares dividends to net income rather than
comprehensive income. The dividend payout ratio involves payout in the form of dividends;
2
For an example of the third approach, see the 2005 10-K filing for Maytag Corporation, on the SEC’s
EDGAR Web site. For an example of the second approach, see Chubb Corporation in Minicase M9.2 in
Chapter 9. Also look at the Web page supplement for this chapter.
Chapter 8 The Analysis of the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity 265
total payout is dividends plus share repurchases. Some firms pay no dividends but have
regular stock repurchases. The total payout ratio is
Total payout ratio =
Dividends + Stock repurchases
Comprehensive income
calculated with total dollar amounts rather than per-share amounts. The difference between
this ratio and the dividend payout ratio gives the percentage of earnings paid out as stock
repurchases.
Note that stock dividends and stock splits are not involved. These simply change the
share units, with no effect on the claim of each shareholder. Some splits and stock dividends involve a reclassification from retained earnings to additional paid-in capital, but
again this has no effect on the value of claims.
Although the dividend payout ratio suggests that dividends are paid out of earnings, they
are really paid out of book value, out of assets. So a firm can pay a dividend even if it reports a
loss. Payout, as a proportion of book value, is the rate of disinvestment by shareholders:
Dividends-to-book value =
Total payout-to-book value =
Dividends
Book value of CSE + Dividends
Dividends + Stock repurchases
Book value of CSE + Dividends + Stock repurchases
Usually ending book value of common shareholders’ equity (CSE) is used in the denominator in these calculations (although, with dividends paid out over the year, average CSE is
also appropriate).
Retention ratios focus on earnings retained rather than earnings paid out. The standard
retention ratio involves only cash dividends (but can be modified to incorporate stock
repurchases):
Comprehensive income – Dividends
Retention ratio =
Comprehensive income
= 1 – Dividend payout ratio
Shareholder Profitability
The reformulated statement yields the comprehensive rate of return on common equity,
ROCE, the profitability of the owners’ investment for the period. ROCE is also growth in equity from business activities. For Nike, the 2008 ROCE (using average equity for the year) is
ROCEt =
=
Comprehensive earnings
1 ( CSE + CSE
)
2
t
t −1
1
1, 931.8
= 25.9%
(
7
,
118
.3 + 7, 797.3)
2
The ROCE calculated on beginning common equity is 27.1 percent.
Note that the income statement and balance sheet are not needed to calculate ROCE;
rather, they provide the detail to analyze ROCE.
Growth Ratios
The growth in shareholders’ equity is simply the change from beginning to ending balances.
Growth ratios explain this growth as a rate of growth.
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Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
The part of the growth rate resulting from transactions with shareholders is the net
investment rate:
Net transations with shareholders
Net investment rate =
Beginning book value of CSE
Nike’s net investment rate was a negative 17.6 percent because net cash was paid out; shareholders disinvested. The part of the growth rate that comes from business activities is given
by the ROCE on beginning equity, 27.1 percent for Nike. The rate of growth of owners’ equity from both sources—new shareholder financing and business activities—is the growth
rate in common stockholders’ equity:
Growth rate of CSE =
=
Change in CSE
Beginning CSE
Comprehensive income + Net transactions with shareholders
Beginning CSE
Nike’s 2008 growth rate was 9.5 percent.
If ROCE is calculated with beginning CSE in the denominator, then
Growth rate of CSE = ROCE + Net investment rate
For Nike, the growth rate in common equity is 27.1 percent – 17.6 percent = 9.5 percent.
HIDDEN DIRTY SURPLUS
The distinction between comprehensive income and transactions with shareholders in the
reformulated statement of owners’ equity separates the creation of value from the raising of
funds and the distribution of value to shareholders. The premise is that transactions with
shareholders do not create value. This is so when share transactions are at market value, but
when shares are issued at less than market value, shareholders lose. And the losses do not
appear in GAAP financial statements.
Issue of Shares in Operations
When firms grant shares to employees at less than market price, the difference between
market price and issue price is treated as (deferred) compensation to employees and ultimately amortized as an expense to the income statement. This is appropriate accounting,
for the discount from market value is compensation to employees and a loss of shareholder
value. More frequently, though, shares are not granted to employees. Rather, stock options
are granted and shares are issued later when the options are exercised. Unfortunately,
GAAP and IFRS accounting do a poor job of reporting the effects of stock options on
shareholder value.
Four events are involved in a stock option award: the grant of the option, the vesting of
the option, the exercise of the option, and the lapse of the option. At the grant date, employees are awarded the right to exercise at an exercise price; the vesting date is the first
date at which they can exercise the option; the exercise date is the date on which they actually exercise at the exercise price; and the lapse date is the date on which the option
lapses should the employee choose not to exercise. Clearly the employee exercises if the
stock is “in the money” at exercise date, that is, if the market price is greater than the
exercise price.
If the call option is granted in the money at grant date (with the exercise price set at less
than the market price at grant date), accounting treats the difference between the market
price and exercise price as compensation. Unearned compensation is recorded and then
Measuring the Loss from Exercise
of Stock Options
Stock option loss is the difference between the exercise price
and the market price of the shares at the date of exercise. This
is the amount that shareholders lose by not issuing the shares
at market price. The amount can be calculated in two ways.
METHOD 1
If options are nonqualifying options, the firm receives a tax
deduction for the difference between market price and exercise
price (and the employee is taxed on that difference). As firms
report the tax benefit from the exercise of options (either in the
equity statement or the cash flow statement, as with Nike), the
amount of the tax deduction—the stock option loss—can be
imputed using the firm’s tax rate. Nike’s tax rate, gleaned from
the tax footnote to the financial statements, is 36.4 percent.
So, from the tax benefit of $63.0 million reported in the cash
flow statement (in Exhibit 2.3 in Chapter 2), the loss is
$63/0.364 = 173.1 million. As the expense is a tax deduction,
the after-tax option loss is calculated as follows (in millions):
Stock option loss
Tax benefit at 36.4%
Stock option loss, after tax
$63/0.364
$173.1
(63.0)
$110.1
8.2
METHOD 2
If there is no reported tax benefit to work from, the calculation must estimate the market price at exercise date. Nike’s
average stock price during 2008 was $62.00. With 9.1 million
options exercised, the calculation is as follows:
Estimate market value of
shares issued
9.1 × $62
Exercise (issue) price, from equity statement
(less tax benefit of $63)
Stock option loss, before tax
Tax benefit at 36.4%
Stock option loss, after tax
$564.2
309.2
255.0
92.8
$162.2
This calculation is tentative. If employees exercised below the
$62 price, the expense would be lower. Indeed, the Method 2
number is higher than the Method 1 number.
Method 2 must be used for incentive options, where the
firm does not receive a tax benefit (nor is the employee taxed
until the shares are sold).
amortized to the income statement over the vesting period, as in the case of a stock grant at
less than market price. However, most options are granted “at the money,” with exercise
price equal to the market price at grant date. As time elapses and the market price of the stock
moves “into the money,” no additional compensation expense is recorded. Further, when options are indeed exercised, no compensation expense is recorded. You see in Nike’s statement
of equity that the amount received on exercise is recorded as issued shares, but, unlike the
stock grants, the expense—the difference between the market price and the issue price—
is not recorded.
The appropriate accounting is to record the issue of shares at market price and recognize
the difference between the market price and issue price as compensation expense. In the
absence of this accounting there is a hidden dirty-surplus expense. The expense is not
merely recorded in equity rather than the income statement; it is not recorded at all. But
there has been a distribution of wealth to employees and that distribution has come at the expense of the shareholders: The value of their shares must drop to reflect the dilution of their
equity. GAAP accounting treats this transaction, which is both a financing transaction—
raising cash—and an operational transaction—paying employees—as if it is just a financing transaction. This hidden dirty-surplus accounting creates a hidden expense. Box 8.2
calculates Nike’s loss from the exercise of stock options during 2008.
Some commentators argue that, because options are granted at the money, there is no
expense. Employees—and particularly management, who benefit most—say this adamantly.
But there is no expense only if the options fail to move into the money. They also say that, as
the exercise of options does not involve a cash payment by the firm, there is no expense.
However, paying employees with stock options that are exercised substitutes for paying
267
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Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
them with cash, and recording the expense is recording the cash-equivalent compensation:
The firm is effectively issuing stock to employees at market price and giving them a cash
amount equivalent to the difference between market and exercise prices to help pay for the
stock. From a shareholder’s point of view, it makes no difference whether employees are
paid with cash or with the value of the shares that shareholders have to give up. Recognizing this expense is at the heart of accrual accounting for shareholder value, for accrual accounting looks past cash flows to value flows; it sees an award of valuable stock for wages
as no different from cash wages. If you are hesitant in viewing stock compensation as an
expense, think of the case where a firm pays for all its operations—its materials, its advertising, its equipment—with stock options. (Indeed some sports stars have asked to be paid
with stock options for promotions!) If the hidden expenses were not recognized, the income
statement would have only revenues on it and no expenses. Stock options produce revenues
and profits for shareholders if they present an incentive for employees and management.
But GAAP accounting does not match the cost of the options against these revenues and
profits. Value added must be matched with value lost.
With the large growth in stock compensation in the 1990s, the hidden expense became
quite significant, particularly in the high-tech sector. The Financial Accounting Standards
Board addressed the issue, but in Statement No. 123R came to an unsatisfactory conclusion. This statement requires unearned compensation to be recognized at grant date at an
amount equal to the value of the option, priced using option-pricing formulas. The credit
goes to shareholders’ equity, incorrectly as we have seen with Nike. The unearned compensation is then amortized to the income statement over a service period, usually the vesting period.3 The international accounting standard on the issue, IFRS 2, requires similar
treatment. This treatment is called grant date accounting. But the granting of options yields
an expense only in recognition of possible exercise. If the option lapses (because the stock
does not go into the money), no expense is incurred, but the accounting maintains the expense. An expense is realized only if the option is exercised. The difference between the
market price and exercise price at exercise date is the loss to shareholders. Recognizing this
expense, as in Box 8.2, is called exercise date accounting. In 2008, Nike reported (in footnotes) $127.0 million in before-tax stock option expense using grant date accounting.
Box 8.2 calculates an expense of $173.1 million, before tax, from the exercise of options
during 2008. Now go to Accounting Clinic IV.
Significantly, the Internal Revenue Service recognizes that an expense is incurred when
options are exercised and gives the firm a tax deduction for it (if certain conditions are met).
The firm books this tax benefit to equity, often as an addition to the proceeds from the share
issue. So the $372.2 million that Nike received from the exercise of stock options (in
Exhibit 8.1) represents $309.2 million received from the share issue plus $63 million in tax
benefits. So, the accounting recognizes the tax benefit of the expense, increasing equity, but
not the associated expense!
You can see that stock option accounting under the present accounting standards is a
bit of a mess. We could correct the accounting by recognizing the appropriate loss from
exercise of options ($173.1 million, before tax, for Nike in Box 8.2) but, as Nike has recognized an expense from grant-date accounting ($127.0 million), we would be double
counting to some extent. We could unravel the GAAP accounting and apply the appropriate accounting outlined in the box introducing Accounting Clinic IV, but that is a
difficult task.
3
Prior to 2006, no expense was recognized at all. Rather, the expense was reported in footnotes.
Chapter 8 The Analysis of the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity 269
IV
Accounting Clinic
ACCOUNTING FOR STOCK COMPENSATION
GAAP accounting for stock options in the United States employs grant-date accounting. The International Accounting
Standards Board (IASB) also requires grant-date accounting
under IFRS2. Accounting Clinic IV leads you through grantdate accounting.
Accounting Clinic IV also lays out exercise-date accounting and takes you through the complete accounting
that measures the effects of stock options on shareholders. Unearned compensation costs are recorded at grant
date, and then recognized as expense in the income statement over the period when employee services are given.
Accordingly, the compensation cost is matched against the
revenues that the employees produce. Subsequent to
grant date, further losses are recognized as options go into
the money. Here are the steps to effect sound accrual
accounting for stock options:
1. Recognize the option value at grant date as a contingent liability, along with a deferred (unearned) compensation asset. The two items can be netted on the
balance sheet. The option value at grant date is the
amount recognized with grant-date accounting under
FASB Statement No. 123R. The grant-date value given
to employees is compensation, but it is contingent upon
the options going into the money, so it is a contingent
liability to issue shares. The deferred compensation
asset is similar to that which arises from stock issues to
employees at less than market value.
2. Amortize the deferred compensation over an employee
service period, usually the vesting period.
3. Mark the contingent liability to market as options go
into the money to capture the value of the option overhang, and recognize a corresponding unrealized loss
from stock options.
4. Extinguish the liability against the share issue (at market value) at exercise date. If options are not exercised,
extinguish the liability and recognize a windfall gain
from stock options.
For more on appropriate exercise date accounting, go
also to the Web page for this chapter.
With an eye on the future, we can finesse the problem. The loss from exercise of options
in the current period is a legitimate loss that should be reported. But when an investor buys
a stock, he is concerned about how he could lose from these instruments in the future.
Accordingly, valuation focuses on the expected losses from future exercise of options. This
expected loss is referred to as the option overhang. It can be estimated as the loss incurred
if outstanding options were exercised at the current market price. At the end of 2008, Nike
had 36.6 million options outstanding with a weighted-average exercise price of $40.14. The
closing market price for its shares at fiscal year end was $67.20. So the option overhang is
estimated as follows (in millions):
Market price of shares to be issued for options
Exercise price
Tax benefit (at 36.4%)
Contingent liability (option overhang)
36.6 × $67.20 = $2,460
36.6 × $40.14 = 1,490
991
361
630
This drag on the value of the shares amounts to $1.28 per share (with 491.1 million
shares outstanding). Note that the liability for the expected loss is reduced by the expected tax benefit on exercise. The measure of the option overhang here is a floor valuation; it should also include option value for the possibility it might increase. We return to
the complete treatment in Chapter 13 when we formally build contingent claims into equity valuation.
Firms use options and warrants for other operating expenses beside wages. See Box 8.3.
Paying for License Rights with Stock
Warrants: Reebok
In 2001, Reebok, Nike’s rival, entered into a 10-year license
agreement with the National Football League (NFL) giving the
company exclusive rights to design, develop, and sell NFL
footwear, apparel, and accessories in exchange for stock warrants valued at $13.6 million. These warrants gave the NFL the
right to purchase up to 1.6 million shares of Reebok’s common
stock at various exercise prices, with an expiration date of 2012.
Reebok recorded an intangible asset (“licenses” below)
and then amortized this asset over 10 years. So its intangible
asset footnote for 2003 reported the following (in thousands):
Amortizable intangible assets:
Licenses
Other intangible assets
Less accumulated amortization
Nonamortizable intangible assets:
Company tradenames and trademarks
$13,600
4,492
$18,092
3,656
$14,436
27,860
$42,296
You see that Reebok recognized the license asset and is amortizing the license cost along with other amortizable intangible
assets. So the license expense is being matched against revenue from NFL branded products in the income statement
over the term of the license. This is appropriate accounting.
However, the issue of the warrants was recorded as a share
issue in the equity statement in 2001, as required by GAAP.
8.3
But the GAAP accounting is inappropriate. The issue of a
warrant—like the issue of a stock option—is not an issue of
equity but, rather, an obligation for the shareholders to surrender value in the future should the warrants be exercised.
From the shareholders’ point of view a warrant is a (contingent) liability, and appropriate accounting for shareholder
value requires it to be recognized as such. Further, if and when
the warrants are exercised, the difference between the exercise price and the market price of the stock at the time, over
and above the $13.6 million already recognized, is a further
loss to shareholders.
The diligent equity analyst recognizes that GAAP fails to
track the effects of this transaction on shareholder value.
Many of the warrants have an exercise price of $27.06 per
share. At the end of 2004, Reebok’s shares traded at $44.00,
so the warrants were well in the money and likely to be
exercised. The analyst anticipates that there will be a loss of
shareholder value when this happens and builds this into her
valuation. This is the warrant overhang. For now, note that
a rough calculation of the warrant overhang (at the end of
2004) is the amount of value that the shareholders would
have to give up if the warrants were exercised at the end of
2004: The difference between the market price of the share
and the exercise price at the end of 2004 is $44.00 − $27.06 =
$16.94 per warrant. Chapter 13 modifies this calculation to
recognize that the warrants cannot be exercised in 2004, but
rather in 2012, so option value must be added to this rough
calculation.
Issue of Shares in Financing Activities
Hidden losses occur not only with employee stock options but with the exercise of all contingent equity claims. Call and put options on the firm’s own stock, warrants, rights, convertible bonds, and convertible preferred shares are all contingent equity claims that, if
exercised, require the issue (or repurchase) of shares at a price that is different from market
value. Look at Box 8.4.
Box 8.5 covers the accounting for convertible bonds and convertible preferred stock and
shows how GAAP and IFRS accounting do not recognize the full cost of financing with
these instruments. The accounting is not comprehensive, even though a nominal number,
comprehensive income, is reported.
Handling Diluted Earnings per Share
Firms report two earnings-per-share numbers, basic EPS and diluted EPS. Basic EPS
is simply earnings available to common (after preferred dividends) divided by the number
of outstanding shares. Diluted EPS is an “as if ” number that estimates what earnings
per share would be if holders of contingent equity claims like stock options, warrants,
convertible debt, and convertible preferred shares were to exercise their option to convert
270
Hidden Losses and the Accounting
for Put Options: Dell, Inc.
In Dell’s statement of shareholders’ equity for the fiscal year
ending February 1, 2002, the following line item appeared
(in millions):
Repurchase of common shares
Shares
Amount
68
$3,000
This line suggests a routine stock repurchase. But further
investigation reveals otherwise. Dividing the $3 billion paid
out by the 68 million shares purchased, the average per-share
purchase price is $44.12. But Dell’s shares did not trade above
$30 during the year, and the average price was $24. Footnotes reveal that Dell was forced to repurchase shares at the
strike price of $44 on put options written to investors. In previous years, Dell had gained from these options as the stock
price continued to rise during the bubble. But with the share
price falling (from a high of $58 in 2000) as the stock market
bubble burst, Dell was caught as these options went under
water. Using the average price of $24 for 2002 as the market
price when the shares were repurchased, the loss from the
exercise of put options is as follows:
Market price for shares
repurchased
$24 × 68 million
Amount paid for shares repurchased
Loss on exercise of put options
$1,632 million
(3,000)
$1,368 million
(The loss is not tax deductible.) This loss should be reported as
part of comprehensive income, but it was not. On the 2,670
million shares outstanding before the repurchase, the loss is
$0.51 per share, a significant amount compared to Dell’s
reported EPS of $0.48. Dell effectively ran two types of businesses, a computer business earning $0.48 per share in 2002
and a business of betting on its own stock, earning a loss of
$0.51 per share.
The omission of this loss is a concern to the investor, and
the investor must be vigilant. Shareholders lose when share
prices fall, of course, but when the firm has written put options, the shareholder suffers twice; the loss from the price
decline is levered. In 2002, Electronic Data Systems Corporation (EDS) announced that the firm had some accounting
problems and that contract revenue would not be as previously expected. The stock price dropped 70 percent on the
8.4
bad news. Later, the firm indicated that the drop in price
would trigger the exercise of put options. The price dropped
further.
Put options are sometimes referred to as put warrants.
Firms make similar commitments to buy back stock through
forward share purchase agreements. They disclose the
existence of put options and share purchase agreements in
footnotes. In buying a stock of Dell in 2002, one must be
aware of the put option overhang, for it might require further
repurchases that lose value for shareholders. At the end of fiscal 2002, Dell has a further put option overhang for 51 million
shares to be repurchased at $45 per share. In September
2002, when the shares were trading at $25, the options were
in the money by $20 per share, a total of $1.020 billion, projecting a loss of $0.39 per outstanding share. Analysts were
forecasting $0.80 EPS for fiscal 2003, but that is GAAP earnings. Expected comprehensive earnings was $0.39 less, or
$0.41 per share.
FASB STATEMENT NO. 150
In 2003, the FASB issued Statement 150 to reform the
accounting for these put obligations. Firms are now required
to recognize a liability, measured at fair value, when the contract is written. Subsequently, as the stock price changes, this
liability is measured at the amount of cash that would be required to settle the obligation at the reporting date. This, of
course, is the difference between the exercise price and market price at reporting date. The revaluation of the liability is
booked to the income statement as interest cost. So, the rule
sees a put option contract (appropriately) as a borrowing: The
firm borrows the amount that the contract is worth and then
repays the “loan” in cash or shares. The amount lost on the
contract is the interest cost on the loan. The accounting under
Statement 150 effectively puts the liability for the option overhang on the balance sheet and records losses, as interest,
as the option moves into the money (and so the shareholders
must give up more value). If the option does not go into the
money, a gain is recognized.
Accordingly, Statement 150 brings the hidden expense
into the income statement and also puts a hidden (offbalance-sheet) liability on the balance sheet. Note, however,
that GAAP does not apply the same treatment to call
options, (call) warrants, and other convertible securities. See
Box 8.3.
271
Accounting for Convertible Securities
Convertible securities are securities, such as bonds and
preferred stock, that can be converted into common shares if
conditions are met. Textbooks propose two methods to record
the conversion of a convertible bond or a convertible preferred stock into common shares:
1. The book value method records the share issue at the book
value of the bond or preferred stock. Common equity is increased and debt or preferred stock is reduced by the same
amount, so no gain or loss is recorded.
2. The market value method records the share issue at the
market value of the shares issued in the conversion. The difference between this market value and the book value of
the security converted is recorded as a loss on conversion.
The book value method is almost exclusively used in
practice. It involves a hidden dirty-surplus loss. The market
value method reports the loss. It accords the treatment of
convertible securities the same treatment as nonconvertible
securities. On redemption of nonconvertible securities before
maturity, a loss (or gain) is recognized. The only difference
with convertible securities is that shares rather than cash
are used to retire them. In both cases there is a loss to the
existing shareholders.
Convertible bonds carry a lower interest rate than nonconvertible bonds because of the conversion option. GAAP
accounting records only this interest expense as the financing cost, so it looks as if the financing is cheaper. But the full
8.5
financing cost to shareholders includes any loss on conversion of
the bonds into common shares—and this loss is not recorded.
In the 1990s, financing with convertible preferred stock
became common. Only the dividends on the preferred
stock were recorded as the financing cost, not the loss on conversion. Suppose a convertible preferred stock issue had no
dividend rights but, to compensate, set a favorable conversion
price to the buyer of the issue. Under GAAP accounting it
would appear that this financing had no cost.
In September 2008, in the midst of the credit crisis on Wall
Street, Goldman Sachs invited Warren Buffett, the legendary
fundamental investor, to contribute much-needed equity
capital to the firm. Buffett seemingly got a very good deal. For
a $5 billion cash infusion, he received perpetual preferred equity shares carrying a 10 percent dividend (redeemable by Goldman Sachs) plus warrants to buy 43.5 million common shares
at $115 per share (for a total of another $5 billion). The $115
conversion price was set at the current share price, a threeyear low for Goldman. The stock price rose to $135 within
three days, putting Mr. Buffett’s warrants well into the money.
It remains to be seen at what price Mr. Buffett exercises.
But any difference between the exercise price and the market
price at that point will be a loss for shareholders. GAAP
accounting will not, however, record that loss. At a stock
price of $135 per share, the prospective loss—the warrant
overhang—was $20 per share, or a total of $870 million for
the 43.5 million shares.
those claims to common shares; rather than shares outstanding, the denominator is shares
outstanding plus shares that would be outstanding should conversion take place. (Accounting Clinic IV gives more detail.)
Handle the diluted EPS number with care. While diluted EPS gives an indication of
likely dilution to the common shareholders, it is not a number to be used in valuing the
common shareholders’ equity. It commingles the current shareholders’ claim on earnings
with those of possible future shareholders. The claims of current and future shareholders
are quite different. Both will share in future earnings should options be exercised, but
only current shareholders share in current earnings. Further, they share future earnings
differently. When claims are converted to common equity, the loss will fall on current
shareholders, while the new shareholders will gain as current shareholders effectively
sell the firm to new shareholders at less than market price. The two earnings claims must
be differentiated and the diluted EPS does not do this. With a focus on valuing the current outstanding shares, one must focus on basic EPS, adjusted of course for the failure
of the accounting to record losses (to current shareholders) when claims are converted to
common equity.
Share Transactions in Inefficient Markets
The maxim that share issues and repurchases at market value do not create value recognizes
that in efficient stock markets, value received equals value surrendered; both sides of the
272
Do Share Repurchases Prevent Dilution from
Shares Issued Under Stock Option Programs?
Dell, Inc., explains its put option transactions (examined in
Box 8.4) as “part of a share-repurchase program to manage
the dilution resulting from shares issued under employee stock
plans.” It is common for firms to explain share repurchases in
this way. The exercise of stock options increases shares outstanding and, as we have seen, dilutes existing shareholders’
value. Buying back shares reduces shares outstanding. But
does it reverse the dilution?
The answer is no. If shares are purchased at fair value,
there is no change in the per-share value of the equity; the
shareholder does not get extra value to compensate for the
loss of value from stock options. Maintaining constant shares
8.6
outstanding with share repurchases only gives the appearance
of reversing the dilution.
During the stock market bubble, employees exercised
options against the shareholders as prices soared. Firms then
repurchased shares “to manage dilution.” But purchasing
shares at bubble prices (above intrinsic value) destroys value
for shareholders. Shareholders lost twice, once with the employee options, and again with the repurchases. As some firms
borrowed to finance the share repurchases, they were left
with large debts that led to significant credit problems as the
bubble burst.
transaction get what they paid for. In a share repurchase, for example, the firm gives up, and
the seller receives, cash equal to the value of the stock.
But we recognized in Chapter 3 that if stock markets are inefficient, a firm can buy back
shares at less than they are worth and issue shares at more than they are worth. The other
side of the transaction—the shareholder who sells the shares or the new shareholder who
buys—loses value. But the existing shareholders who do not participate in the transaction
gain. These gains (or losses if shareholders lose in the transaction) are not revealed in the
accounts.
Even if stock markets are efficient with respect to publicly available information, a
firm’s management might have private information about the value of their firm’s shares
and issue or repurchase shares at prices that are different from those that will prevail when
the information is subsequently made public. Such transactions also generate value for
existing shareholders. (In the United States there are legal constraints on this practice,
however.)
The active investor who conjectures that the market may be inefficient at times is wary
of share transactions with firms. As with all his trading in the stock market, he tests the
market price against an estimate of intrinsic value. But he is particularly careful in this case
because the firm’s management may have a better feel for intrinsic value than he.
The active investor who understands the intrinsic value of a stock understands when
it might be overvalued or undervalued. And he understands that management might use the
mispricing to advantage. The management might, for example, use overvalued shares
to make acquisitions, to acquire other firms cheaply. Indeed this is a reason why an investor
might buy overvalued shares: He sees that value can be generated by using the shares as
currency in an acquisition. But this is a tricky business: If investors force up the prices of
shares that are already overpriced, a price bubble can result. The fundamental investor
bases his actions on a good understanding of the firm’s acquisition possibilities and its
acquisition strategy.
As for the management, they can take advantage of share mispricings to create value for
shareholders with share transactions. They can choose to finance new operations with debt
rather than equity if they feel the stock price is “too low.” But they also can choose to exercise their stock options when the price is high—a double whammy for shareholders. They
might also have misguided ideas about stock issues and repurchases. See Box 8.6.
273
Accounting Quality Watch:
The Equity Statement
8.7
This chapter has identified quality lapses in GAAP and IFRS accounting. With an eye on the shareholder, the analyst needs to
maintain a watch on the following. The issues arise both in GAAP and IFRS accounting.
Accounting Item
Quality Problem
Dividends payable
GAAP treats dividends payable as a liability. Rather, it is part of shareholders’ equity. Shareholders have
a claim to these dividends that have been declared but not paid. They do not owe them to others.
Unrealized gains and losses
on securities
Unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale debt and equity securities are reported as
part of other comprehensive income in the equity statement rather than in the income statement. Thus,
the full performance of an investment portfolio is not reported in the income statement. Worse, as firms
report realized gains and losses in the income statement, they can “cherry pick” gains into the income
statement (and earnings per share) by selling securities that have appreciated in value while holding those
on which they have experienced losses and reporting those unrealized losses in the equity statement.
Translation gains and losses
A gain or loss results from holding assets and liabilities in foreign currencies when exchange rate
change is not recognized in the income statement. (The effect is booked to equity in the equity statement, bypassing the income statement.)
Preferred dividends
Preferred dividends are treated as a distribution of equity rather than a cost to (common)
shareholders.
Stock compensation credits
to equity
GAAP recognizes deferred compensation from grant of stock options as a credit to equity,
as if shareholders’ equity increases by compensating employees. This is a liability—to give
up value on the exercise of options—not an increase in equity.
Grant-date stock option
accounting
GAAP recognizes stock option compensation at option grant date. However, the expense
(to the shareholder) is incurred at exercise date as shares are issued for less than market price. If
granted options are not exercised, GAAP overstates wages’ expense. If options are exercised,
GAAP typically understates wages’ expense.
Accounting for warrants
and options
GAAP does not report the loss to shareholders when warrants and (call and put) options
on the firm’s stock are exercised and shares are issued or repurchased at prices differing
from market price.
Accounting for convertible
GAAP converts these claims to equity at their book value. Thus, no loss is recognized
bonds and preferred stock on the conversion.
Omitted borrowing costs
As losses are not recognized on conversion of nonequity financing instruments (like convertible
bonds) into equity, borrowing costs are understated.
Omitted (off-balance-sheet)
liabilities
Outstanding obligations to issue shares at less then market price are not recognized on the
balance sheet. These include the option overhang from outstanding stock options.
THE EYE OF THE SHAREHOLDER
We have characterized the financial statements as a lens on the business. For equity analysis, the lens must be focused to the eye of the shareholder. GAAP and IFRS accounting is
inadequate for equity analysis because it does not have its eye on the shareholder. It does
not account faithfully for the welfare of the shareholder, and nowhere else is this more apparent than with the accounting in the statement of shareholders’ equity.
GAAP and IFRS fail to see a sale of shares by current shareholders at less than market
value as a loss. If the shareholders were forced to do so on their own account, they surely
274
Chapter 8 The Analysis of the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity 275
would make a loss. When the firm forces it on them, they also make a loss. The accounting
fails to understand the distinction between cash transactions with shareholders (to raise
cash and to pass out unneeded cash as a matter of financing) and value added (or lost) from
operations that can be embedded in a share issue. It also fails to see that transactions
between claimants—convertible bondholders and common shareholders, for example—
can involve losses for the common shareholders.
In short, GAAP and IFRS accounting does not honor the property rights of the common shareholder. This is so despite the fact that financial reports are prepared nominally
for the shareholder, company directors (including the audit committee) have a fiduciary
duty to the shareholders, and management and auditors formally present the financial
reports to shareholders at the annual meeting. The accounting does not honor the shareholders as the owners of the firm. Consequently, the equity analyst must repair the accounting, as we have done in this chapter and will continue to do as we move to valuation
in later chapters.
ACCOUNTING QUALITY WATCH
As we proceed with the financial statement analysis in Part Two of the book, we will address
accounting issues as they arise. The text will provide an outline of how the relevant accounting
works—as we did for marketable securities and employee stock options in this chapter—and
refer you to Accounting Clinics on the book’s Web site for further elaboration—as we did
with Accounting Clinics III and IV on marketable securities and stock compensation in this
chapter.
One needs to understand how the accounting works, but one also needs to understand
when the accounting does not work for the equity analyst. When do accounting quality issues frustrate the analyst? Some of these quality issues arise just because of practical difficulties in accounting measurement. Others arise because the accounting standard setters do
not get it right, as we have seen in this chapter. And yet others arise because firms use the
license available within GAAP to manipulate the accounting.
Box 8.7 starts our Accounting Quality Watch. It lists the accounting quality issues we
have encountered in this chapter. We will add to this list as we proceed so that, when we go
specifically into the analysis of accounting quality in Chapter 17, we will have considerable
background.
The Web Connection
Find the following on the Web page for this chapter:
• Accounting for the equity statement and comprehensive income under IFRS.
• Further examples of reformulated statements of shareholders’ equity.
• Further discussion of hidden expenses.
• More coverage of footnotes that pertain to the equity
statement.
• More on GAAP and IFRS accounting for convertible
securities.
• More discussion on the appropriate accounting for
contingent claims on equity.
• A discussion of accelerated stock repurchase programs
(that also involve dirty-surplus accounting).
• The Readers’ Corner explores the issues raised in this
chapter.
276
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
Summary
Misclassifications in the financial statements can lead to erroneous analysis of the financial
statements and to erroneous valuations. Reformatting the statements classifies items correctly. The GAAP statement of equity sometimes commingles the results of operations with
the financing of the operations. This chapter reformulates the statement to distinguish the
creation of value in a firm from the distribution of value to shareholders in net dividends.
The reformulation identifies dirty-surplus items in the statement and yields comprehensive
income and comprehensive ROCE.
Omission in the financial statements is more pernicious than misclassification, and the
chapter sensitizes the analyst to expenses that can arise from exercise of contingent claims
but which are hidden by GAAP and IFRS accounting. Failure to recognize these expenses
in forecasting can lead to overvaluation of firms.
As always, a sense of perspective must be maintained in analyzing the statement of equity. For some firms with few dirty-surplus items and no stock compensation, there is little
to be discovered. For many firms there are just two items—translation gains and losses and
unrealized gains and losses on securities—that appear. And for many firms, the amounts of
these items are small. In the United States, one can sometimes glance at the statement and
dismiss the items as immaterial. In other countries, the practice of dirty-surplus accounting
is quite extensive. And in the United States, the use of stock options in compensation is
widespread.
Key Concepts
call option is a claim that gives the holder
the right, but not the obligation, to buy
shares at a particular price (the exercise
price). 266
clean-surplus accounting produces a
statement of shareholders’ equity that
contains only net income (closed from
the income statement) and transactions
with shareholders. 262
contingent equity claim is a claim that
may be converted into common equity if
conditions are met. Examples are call
options, put options, and convertible
securities. 270
convertible securities are securities (such
as bonds and preferred stock) that can be
converted into common shares if
conditions are met, but which have
additional claims also. 272
dilution (to existing shareholders) occurs
when shares are issued to new shareholders at less than market value. 267
dirty-surplus item is an accounting item
in shareholders’ equity other than
transactions with shareholders or
income closed from the income
statement. 262
forward share purchase agreement is an
agreement to buy back shares at a
specified price in the future. 271
hidden dirty-surplus expense is an
expense that arises from the issue of
shares but is not recognized in the
financial statements. 267
incentive options are employee stock
options that are not taxed to the employee
on exercise and are not tax deductible for
the issuing firm. 267
nonqualifying options are employee stock
options that are taxable to the employee
on exercise and tax deductible to the
issuing corporation. 267
option overhang is the value of stock
options unexercised. 269
payout is amounts paid to shareholders.
The term is sometimes used to refer only
to dividends, sometimes to dividends and
stock repurchases. Compare with
retention. 265
Chapter 8 The Analysis of the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity 277
put option is a claim that gives the
holder the right, but not the obligation, to
sell shares at a particular price (the
exercise price). 271
redeemable securities are securities (such
as bonds and preferred stocks) that can be
redeemed by the issuer under specified
conditions. 258
retention is paying out less than 100 percent
of earnings. Compare with payout. 265
tax benefit is a tax deduction or credit
given for specified transactions. 268
warrant is similar to a call option but
usually of longer duration. A put
warrant is similar to a put option. 270
The Analyst’s Toolkit
Analysis Tools
Reformulated statements
of common shareholders’
equity
Analysis of dirty-surplus
accounting
Ratio analysis of the equity
statement
Payout analysis
Compensation expense
analysis
Grant-date accounting
Exercise-date accounting
Warrant accounting
Put option accounting
The book value method
The market value method
Page
257
262
264
264
266
268
268
270
271
272
272
Key Measures
Page
Comprehensive income
257
Net effect of transactions with
shareholders (net dividend) 261
Other comprehensive income 258
Foreign currency translation
gains and losses
262
Gains and losses on
derivative instruments
262
Basic earnings per share
270
Diluted earnings per share
270
Hidden compensation
expense
267
Option overhang
269
Losses on warrants
270
Gains and losses on put
options
271
Loss on conversion of a
convertable security
272
Ratios
Dividend payout
264
Total payout
265
Dividends-to-book value
265
Total payout-to-book value 265
Retention
265
New investment rate
266
Comprehensive ROCE
265
Growth rate of common
shareholders’ equity
265
Tax benefit on issue of shares
in exercise of employee
stock options
267
Unrealized gains and losses on
securities available for sale 262
Acronyms to Remember
CSE common shareholders’
equity
EPS earnings per share
IFRS International Financial
Reporting Standard
ROCE return on common
shareholders’ equity
278
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
A Self-Study Exercise
You are now ready to begin an analysis of Kimberly-Clark’s financial statements with a
view, ultimately, of using the analysis to value KMB’s shares.
As always, start with the equity statement. This is given in Exhibit 2.2 in the Continuing Case for Chapter 2. The layout is similar to the Nike statement in this chapter. Totals
are not given, so first confirm that the beginning and ending balances total to the amount
of shareholders’ equity in the balance sheet. Kimberly-Clark issues shares when employees exercise stock options and also issues restricted stock to employees. The firm repurchases stock into treasury—with a very large repurchase of $1.617 billion dollars in 2004.
(It paid a dividend $1.60 per share in 2004, as noted in an earlier installment of the
Continuing Case).
REFORMULATION
Your task is to reformulate this equity statement for 2004 along the lines of the Nike reformulation in this chapter. Go through and mark off the items that are transactions with shareholders and those that are part of comprehensive income. Then ask yourself if there are any
hidden dirty-surplus expenses. Think about how you should treat the spin-off of Neenah
Paper, Inc. You should note that dividends payable are given in the balance sheet (in the
Chapter 2 installment of the Continuing Case). Kimberly-Clark’s tax rate is 35.6 percent.
RATIO ANALYSIS
State in one or two sentences what the reformulated statement you have drawn up is saying.
Then carry out a ratio analysis that embellishes the story. Why do you think this firm is
paying out so much cash to shareholders?
BUILD YOUR OWN ANALYSIS ENGINE FOR KMB
You might enter your reformulated equity statement into a spreadsheet. After you have covered the next chapter, you can add the balance sheet and income statement. Then, in subsequent chapters, you can use spreadsheet operations to analyze the statements and derive
valuations from that analysis. The BYOAP feature on the book’s Web site will guide you.
Concept
Questions
C8.1. Why is income in the equity portion of the balance sheet called “dirty-surplus”
income?
C8.2. Why can “value be lost” if an analyst works with reported net income rather than
comprehensive income?
C8.3. Are currency translation gains and losses real gains and losses to shareholders?
Aren’t they just an accounting effect that is necessary to consolidate financial statements prepared in different currencies?
C8.4. In accounting for the conversion of convertible bonds to common stock, most firms
record the issue of shares at the amount of the book value of the bonds. The issue
of the shares could be recorded at their market value, with the difference between
the market value of the shares and the book value of the bonds recorded as a loss on
Chapter 8 The Analysis of the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity 279
C8.5.
C8.6.
C8.7.
C8.8.
C8.9.
Exercises
the conversion. Which treatment best reflects the effect of the transaction on the
wealth of the existing shareholders?
The compensation vice president of General Mills was quoted in The Wall Street
Journal on January 14, 1997, as saying that option programs are “very attractive for
shareholders” because they cut fixed costs and boost profits. So, for General Mills’s
1996 year, selling, general, and administrative expenses, which include compensation, dropped by $222 million, or 9 percent, while pretax earnings from continuing
operations rose by $194 million, or 34 percent. At the same time, the firm was distributing about 3 percent of its stock to employees annually.
What’s wrong with this picture?
Before it found the practice to be too expensive, Microsoft (and a number of other
firms) was in the habit of repurchasing some of the shares that it issued each year
as employees exercised stock options. The rationale, according to commentators,
was to avoid the dilution from shares issued to employees.
a. Do share issues from the exercise of employee stock options cause dilution?
b. Do share repurchases reverse dilution?
c. Why would Microsoft feel that repurchasing shares is “too expensive”?
Cisco Systems, the networking equipment firm, reported a tax benefit from the exercise of stock options of $537 million in its fiscal 2004 shareholders’ equity statement. Over the previous years, the tax benefits had cut more than 25 percent off the
firm’s tax bills. Commentators saw this tax relief as a major source of value for the
shareholders. Is this correct?
In February 1999, Boots, the leading retail chemist in the United Kingdom, announced plans to reform its employee option compensation scheme. In the future,
it said, the firm will purchase its own shares to provide shares to issue when options
are exercised, and it will charge the difference between the market price and the
issue price for the options against profits. The charge for the first year was expected
to be £63 million ($103 million). What do you think of this scheme?
In September 1999, Microsoft agreed to buy Visio Corporation for stock valued at
$1.26 billion. Visio sells a popular line of technical drawing software. At the time,
Microsoft had $14 billion of cash on its balance sheet. Why might Microsoft pay
for the acquisition with its own stock rather than in cash?
Drill Exercises
E8.1.
Some Basic Calculations (Easy)
a. A firm listed total shareholders’ equity on its balance sheet at $237 million. Preferred
shareholders’ equity was $32 million. What is the common shareholders’ equity?
b. From the following information, calculate the net dividend to shareholders and comprehensive income (in millions):
Common shareholders’ equity, beginning of period
Common share issues
Common share repurchases
Common dividends
Common shareholders’ equity, beginning of period
$1,081
230
45
36
$1,292
c. A firm reported $62 million of comprehensive income in its statement of shareholders’
equity but $87 million as net income in its income statement. What explains the
difference?
280
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
E8.2.
Calculating ROCE from the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity (Easy)
From the following information, calculate the return on common equity for the year 2009
(amounts in millions of dollars). There were no share repurchases.
Common stockholders’ equity, December 31, 2008
Dividends paid to common stockholders
Share issue on December 31, 2009
Common stockholders’ equity, December 31, 2009
E8.3.
174.8
8.3
34.4
226.2
A Simple Reformulation of the Equity Statement (Easy)
From the following information, prepare a reformulated statement of common shareholders’ equity for 2008. Amounts are in millions.
Balance, December 31, 2007
Net income
Foreign currency translation loss
Unrealized gain on debt securities held
Issue of shares
Common dividends
Preferred dividends
Balance, December 31, 2008
$1,206
241
(11)
24
45
(94)
(15)
$1,396
The beginning and end-of-year balances include $200 million of preferred stock.
E8.4.
Using Accounting Relations that Govern the Equity
Statement (Medium)
The following is a statement of common shareholders’ equity with some numbers missing
(in millions of dollars).
Balance, December 31, 2008
Net income
Common dividends
Preferred dividends
Issue of common stock
Unrealized gain on securities held for sale
Foreign currency translation loss
Balance, December 31, 2009
?
?
(132)
(30)
155
13
(9)
?
a. The market value of the equity was $4,500 million at December 31, 2008, and $5,580
million at December 31, 2009. At both dates, the equity traded at a premium of $2,100
million over the book of the common equity. What was net income for 2009?
b. Fill out the missing numbers in the equity statement and reformulate it to identify comprehensive income for the common shareholders for 2009.
E8.5.
Calculating the Loss to Shareholders from the Exercise of Stock
Options (Easy)
In 2004, an employee was granted 305 options on the stock of a firm with an exercise price
of $20 per option. In 2009, after the options had vested and when the stock was trading at
Chapter 8 The Analysis of the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity 281
$35 per share, she exercised the options. The firm’s income tax rate is 36 percent. What was
the after-tax cost to shareholders of remunerating this employee with options?
E8.6.
Reformulating an Equity Statement with Employee
Stock Options (Medium)
Reformulate the following statement of shareholder’s equity. The firm’s tax rate is 35%.
Balance, end of fiscal year 2008
Share issues from exercised employee stock options
Repurchase of 24 million shares
Cash dividend
Tax benefit from exercise of employee stock options
Unrealized gain on debt investments
Net income
Balance, end of fiscal year 2009
1,430
810
(720)
(180)
12
50
468
1,870
Applications
E8.7.
A Simple Reformulation: J.C. Penney Company (Easy)
Reformulate the following statement of shareholders’ equity statement for J.C. Penney
Company. Dividends paid consisted of $24 million in preferred dividends and $225 million
in common dividends.
J. C. PENNEY COMPANY, INC., AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
Common
Stock
($ in millions)
January 29, 2000
Net loss
Net unrealized change in investments
Currency translation adjustments
Other comprehensive income from
discontinued operations
Total comprehensive (loss)/income
Dividends
Common stock issued
Preferred stock retired
January 27, 2001
E8.8.
3,266
Preferred
Stock
446
Reinvested
Earnings
3,590
(705)
Accumulated Other
Comprehensive
(Loss)/Income
(74)
2
(14)
16
(705)
(249)
4
$2,636
$(70)
28
$3,294
(47)
$399
Total
Stockholders’
Equity
7,228
(705)
2
(14)
16
(701)
(249)
28
(47)
$6,259
Reformulation of an Equity Statement and Accounting for the Exercise of
Stock Options: Starbucks Corporation (Hard)
The statement of shareholders’ equity below for Starbucks Corporation, the retail coffee
vendor, is for fiscal year 2007.
282
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
Additional Other Additional
Common Stock
Paid-In
Paid-In
Shares
Amount
Capital
Capital
($ in thousands)
Balance, October 1, 2006
Net earnings
Unrealized holding loss,
net
Translation adjustment,
net of tax
Comprehensive income
Stock-based
compensation
expense
Exercise of stock
options, including tax
benefit of $95,276
Sale of common stock,
including tax
provision of $139
Repurchase of common
stock
Balance September 30,
2007
756,602,071
$756
$
$39,393
Retained
Earnings
$2,151,084
672,638
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income/(Loss)
Total
$37,273
$2,228,506
672,638
(20,380)
(20,380)
37,727
37,727
689,985
106,373
106,373
12,744,226
13
225,233
225,246
1,908,407
2
46,826
46,828
(33)
(378,432)
(32,969,419)
738,285,285
$738
$
0
(634,356)
$39,393
$2,189,366
(1,012,821)
$54,620
$2,284,117
a. Reformulate the statement to distinguish comprehensive income from transactions
with shareholders
b. Calculate the after-tax loss to shareholders from the exercise of stock options during
the year.
c. The following information is provided in the equity footnote in the firm’s 10-K for 2007:
Outstanding, October 1, 2006
Granted
Exercised
Cancelled/forfeited
Outstanding, September 30, 2007
Exercisable, September 30, 2007
Vested and expected to vest,
September 30, 2007
Shares
Subject to
Options
Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price
per Share
Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life (Years)
69,419,871
12,298,465
(12,744,226)
(3,458,007)
65,516,103
40,438,082
16.83
36.04
10.23
30.92
20.97
14.65
6.2
63,681,867
20.60
6.2
6.2
5.0
At balance sheet date in 2007, Starbucks’ shares traded at $28.57 each. Provide an
estimate of the option overhang at that date.
Real World Connection
Material on Starbucks can be found in Exercises E9.9, E11.9, E12.8, and E14.10.
E8.9.
Calculating Comprehensive Income to Shareholders:
Intel Corporation (Medium)
The following is adapted from the statement of shareholders’ equity for Intel Corporation
for 2000 (in millions of dollars). Intel faces a 38 percent tax rate.
Chapter 8 The Analysis of the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity 283
Balance, December 25, 1999
Net income
Unrealized loss on available-for-sale securities
Issuance of shares through employee stock plans,
net of tax benefit of $887 million
Conversion of subordinated notes to common stock
(market value of stock was $350 million)
Repurchase of common stock
Cash dividends
Issuance of shares for acquisitions
32,535
10,535
(3,596)
1,684
207
(3,877)
(470)
278
37,296
Calculate comprehensive income to Intel’s shareholders for 2000, being sure to include any
hidden dirty-surplus expenses.
E8.10.
Loss on the Conversion of Preferred Stock: Microsoft Corporation (Easy)
In 1996, Microsoft issued 12.5 million convertible preferred shares carrying a dividend of
2.75 percent for $980 million. The shares were converted into common shares in December 1999, with each preferred share receiving 1.1273 common shares. At the time of conversion, Microsoft’s common shares traded at $88 each. What was the loss to shareholders
from the conversion?
E8.11.
Conversion of Stock Warrants: Warren Buffett and Goldman Sachs (Easy)
In September 2008, in the midst of the credit crisis on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs invited
Warren Buffett, the legendary fundamental investor, to contribute much-needed equity capital to the firm. Buffett seemingly got a very good deal. For a $5 billion cash infusion, he
received perpetual preferred equity shares carrying a 10 percent dividend (redeemable by
Goldman Sachs) plus warrants to buy 43.5 million common shares at $115 per share (for
a total of another $5 billion). The $115 conversion price was set at the current share price, a
three-year low for Goldman. If Buffet exercises the warrants when Goldman Sachs’s pershare price is $150, what is the loss to Goldman’s shareholders?
Real World Connection
See Exercises E1.6, E4.14, E6.13, E7.7, E10.11, E17.10, and E19.4. Minicases M8.1 in this
chapter and M12.2 also deal with Microsoft.
E8.12.
Reformulation of an Equity Statement with Hidden Losses: Dell, Inc. (Hard)
The following is a condensed version of the statement of shareholders’ equity for Dell, Inc.,
for fiscal year ending January 31, 2003 (in millions of dollars):
Balance at February 1, 2002
Net income
Unrealized gain on debt investments
Unrealized loss on derivative instruments
Foreign currency translation gain
Comprehensive income
Shares issued on exercise of options,
including tax benefits of $260
Repurchase of 50 million shares
Balance of January 31, 2003
4,694
2,122
26
(101)
4
2,051
418
(2,290)
4,873
284
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
Other information:
1. Dell’s tax rate is 35 percent.
2. The share repurchase occurred when the stock traded at $28 per share.
a. What was the loss to shareholders from the exercise of stock options?
b. Prepare a reformulated statement of shareholders’ equity for 2003 for Dell, Inc. The
reformulated statement should identify comprehensive income and include all hidden
items.
Real World Connection
Exercises E3.7, E3.14, E5.11, E13.16, and E19.4 also deal with Dell. Minicases M10.1 and
M15.2 cover Dell also.
E8.13.
Ratio Analysis for the Equity Statement: Nike (Easy)
Using the statement of shareholders’ equity in Exhibit 8.1, carry out a ratio analysis that
highlights the information about Nike in that statement.
E8.14.
Losses from Put Options: Household International (Hard)
Household International (acquired by HSBC in 2003 and now known as HSBC Finance
Corporation) is one of the largest U.S. lenders to consumers with poor credit histories, carrying receivables for auto loans, Mastercard and Visa credit card debt, and a significant
amount of private noncredit card debt. In September 2002, Household issued 18.7 million
shares, raising about $400 million. The issue, combined with a decision to sell $7.5 billion
of receivables and deposits, was cheered by analysts concerned about the subprime lender’s
liquidity and credit rating.
However, closer inspection revealed that Household International might have to use the
cash raised for purposes other that bolstering its reserves. While the firm issued shares at a
price of $21.40 per share, about the same time it also repurchased 2.1 million shares at an
average price of $53.88 under forward purchase agreements when the market price of the
shares was $27.
a. What was the loss to shareholders from the repurchase of shares under the forward purchase agreements?
b. At the end of its third quarter for 2002, when the stock price stood at $28.31, there were
outstanding contracts to repurchase 4.9 million shares at a weighted-average price of
$52.99 per share. Make a rough calculation of the option overhang that shareholders
were facing?
c. Why does issuing shares at one price and using the proceeds to repurchase shares at a
higher price lose value for shareholders?
Real World Connection
Further Nike Exercises are in E2.14, E6.7, E13.17, E13.18, E15.11, E18.5, and E19.4.
Minicase 2.1 covers Nike.
Chapter 8 The Analysis of the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity 285
Minicase
M8.1
Analysis of the Equity Statement, Hidden
Losses, and Off-Balance-Sheet Liabilities:
Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft has undoubtedly been the most successful software firm ever. Between 1994 and
2000, the firm’s revenues increased from $2.8 billion to $23.0 billion, and its earnings from
$708 million to $9.4 billion. Over the two year 1998 to 2000, its stock price increased from
$36 per share to almost $120, giving it a trailing P/E ratio of 66 and a market capitalization
at the height of the stock market bubble of over half a trillion dollars. By 2005, Microsoft
was trading at $40 per share (on a pre-split basis) with a market capitalization of $275 billion and a trailing P/E ratio of 25.
Microsoft’s success has been due to a strong product, market positioning, and innovative
research and marketing. In terms of the buzzwords of the time, Microsoft has significant
“knowledge capital” combined with dominant market positioning and network externalities.
These intangible assets are not on its balance sheet, and accordingly the price-to-book ratio
was over 12 in 2000.Yet, to develop and maintain the knowledge base, Microsoft had to attract
leading technical experts with attractive stock option packages, with consequent costs to
shareholders. Unfortunately, GAAP accounting did not report this cost of acquiring knowledge, nor did it report significant off-balance-sheet liabilities to pay for the knowledge.
Knowledge liabilities, as well as knowledge assets, were missing from the balance sheet.
This case asks you to uncover the knowledge costs and the associated liabilities and to
deal with other imperfections in the statement of shareholders’ equity.
Microsoft’s income statement for the first nine months of its June 30, 2000, fiscal year
follows, along with its statement of shareholders’ equity at the end of the nine months and
the shareholders’ equity footnote. At the time, Microsoft’s shares were trading at $90 each.
Reformulate the equity statement and then answer the questions that follow.
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Income Statements
(in millions, except earnings per share)
(Unaudited)
Nine Months Ended
March 31, 2000
Revenue
Operating expenses
$17,152
Cost of revenue
Research and development
Sales and marketing
2,220
2,735
2,972
General and administrative
Other expenses (income)
Total operating expenses
825
(13)
8,739
Operating income
Investment income
8,413
2,055
Gains on sales
156
(Continued)
286
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
Nine Months Ended
March 31, 2000
Income before income taxes
Provision for income taxes
10,624
3,612
Net income
Earnings per share:
Basic
Diluted
$ 7,012
$
$
1.35
1.27
Stockholders’ Equity Statement (in millions) (Unaudited)
Nine Months Ended
March 31, 2000
Common stock and paid-in capital
Balance, beginning of period
$13,844
Common stock issued
Common stock repurchased
Proceeds from sale of put warrants
Stock option income tax benefits
Balance, end of period
2,843
(186)
472
4,002
20,975
Retained earnings
Balance, beginning of period
Net income
Net unrealized investment gains
Translation adjustments and other
Comprehensive income
Preferred stock dividends
Common stock repurchased
Balance, end of period
Total stockholders’ equity
13,614
7,012
2,724
166
9,902
(13)
(4,686)
18,817
$39,792
Extract from the footnotes to the financial statements:
Stockholders’ Equity
During the first three quarters of fiscal 2000, the Company repurchased 54.7 million shares
of Microsoft common stock in the open market. In January 2000, the Company announced
the termination of its stock buyback program.
To enhance its stock repurchase program, Microsoft sold put warrants to independent
third parties. These put warrants entitle the holders to sell shares of Microsoft common
stock to the Company on certain dates at specified prices. On March 31, 2000, 163 million
warrants were outstanding with strike prices ranging from $69 to $78 per share. The put
warrants expire between June 2000 and December 2002. The outstanding put warrants
permit a net-share settlement at the Company’s option and do not result in a put warrant
liability on the balance sheet.
During 1996, Microsoft issued 12.5 million shares of 2.75% convertible exchangeable
principal-protected preferred stock. Net proceeds of $980 million were used to repurchase
common shares. The Company’s convertible preferred stock matured on December 15,
1999. Each preferred share was converted into 1.1273 common shares.
Chapter 8 The Analysis of the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity 287
A. What was the net cash paid out to shareholders during the nine months?
B. What was Microsoft’s comprehensive income for the nine months?
C. Discuss your treatment of the $472 million from “proceeds from sale of put warrants.”
Why would Microsoft sell put warrants? How does GAAP account for put warrants, put
options, and future share purchase agreements?
D. If the put warrants are exercised rather than allowed to lapse, how would GAAP
accounting report the transactions? How would you report the effect on shareholder
value?
E. The equity statement shows that Microsoft repurchased $4.872 billion in common
shares during the nine months. The firm had a policy of repurchasing the amount of
shares that were issued in exercise of employee stock options, to “reverse the dilution,”
as it said. Microsoft discontinued the policy in 2000, as indicated in the shareholders’
equity footnote. Does a repurchase reverse the dilution of shareholders’ equity? Are repurchases at the share prices that prevailed in 2000 advisable from a shareholder’s point
of view?
F. Calculate the loss to shareholders from employees exercising stock options during the
nine months. Microsoft’s combined federal and state statutory tax rate is 37.5 percent.
G. The following is the financing section of Microsoft’s cash flow statement for the nine
months (in millions):
Nine months ending March
Financing
Common stock issued
Common stock repurchased
Put warrant proceeds
Preferred stock dividends
Stock option income tax benefits
Net cash from financing
1999
2000
$1,102
(1,527)
757
(21)
2,238
$2,549
$1,750
(4,872)
472
(13)
4,002
$1,339
Notice that the tax benefits from the exercise of stock options are included as financing
cash flows. Later in 2000, the Emerging Issues Task Force of the Financial Accounting
Standards Board required these tax benefits to be reported in the cash from operations
section of the statement of cash flows. Which is the correct treatment?
H. The income statement reports income taxes of $3,612 million on $10,624 million of income. Yet press reports claimed that Microsoft paid no taxes at the time. Can you see
why? What does the act of paying no taxes on a large income tell you about the quality
of Microsoft’s reported income?
I. Review the shareholders’ equity footnote. What issues arise in the footnote that should
be considered in valuing Microsoft’s shares?
Microsoft’s annual report for the year ending May 31, 2000, reported the following in
the stock option footnote:
Stock Option Plans
For various price ranges, weighted-average characteristics of outstanding stock options at
June 30, 2000, were as follows:
288
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
Outstanding Options
Range of
Exercise Prices
Shares
Remaining
Life (Years)
Weighted-Average
Price
$ 0.56–$ 5.97
5.98– 13.62
13.63– 29.80
29.81– 43.62
43.63– 83.28
83.29–119.13
133
104
135
96
198
166
2.1
3.0
3.7
4.5
7.3
8.6
$ 4.57
10.89
14.99
32.08
63.19
89.91
The weighted average Black-Scholes value of options granted under the stock option plans
during 1998, 1999, and 2000 was $11.81, $20.90, and $36.67, respectively. Value was estimated using a weighted-average expected life of 5.3 years in 1998, 5.0 years in 1999, and
6.2 years in 2000, no dividends, volatility of .32 in 1998 and 1999 and .33 in 2000, and riskfree interest rates of 5.7%, 4.9%, and 6.2% in 1998, 1999, and 2000, respectively.
What information does this footnote give you about the off-balance-sheet knowledge
liability for the option overhang? Can you estimate the amount of the liability?
Real World Connection
Minicase M12.1 also deals with Microsoft, as do Exercises E1.6, E4.14, E6.13, E7.7,
E8.10, E10.11, E17.10, and E19.4.
Chapter Nine
LINKS
Link to previous chapter
Chapter 8 reformulated
and analyzed the
statement of owners' equity.
The Analysis of the
Balance Sheet and
Income Statement
This chapter
This chapter continues
the reformulation and
analysis with
the balance sheet and
income statement. The
reformulation follows the
design in Chapter 7.
Link to next chapter
Chapter 10 analyzes
the cash flow statement.
Link to Web page
More applications and
analysis are on the text
Web Site at
www.mhhe.com/
penman4e.
What assets
and liabilities
are classified
as operating?
As financing?
What items in
the income
statement are
classified as
operating? As
financing?
How are taxes
allocated to the
operating and
financing
components of
the income
statement?
What ratios
are calculated
from
reformulated
statements?
What do they
mean?
The reformulated statement of shareholders’ equity of the last chapter yields the overall
profitability measure, the comprehensive return on common shareholders’ equity, which,
along with growth, drives residual earnings and value. The balance sheet and income statement give the detail to discover the sources of profitability and growth. This chapter takes
you through the reformulation of the two statements in preparation for the analysis of profitability and growth in Chapters 11 and 12.
Profitability that generates value comes from a firm’s business operations. Thus the
analysis begins with a reformulation of the statements, following the templates of Chapter 7,
which distinguishes operating activities from financing activities. This reformulation enforces the rule that one cannot value a firm without knowing the business, for distinguishing operating activities identifies the business the firm is in. And distinguishing operating
items from financing items in financial statements requires understanding the role of each
item in the business and how it contributes to the profitability of the firm. Reformulation of
the financial statements—the lens on the business—brings the business activities into
sharper focus. We understand the business, the strategy, and the value it generates, through
the lens of reformulated financial statements.
The main aim of reformulating the balance sheet and income statements, however, is to
discover the drivers of ROCE (return on common equity) and growth in preparation for
forecasting and valuation. This discovery is made through ratio analysis, combined as always with a good knowledge of the business. This chapter introduces ratios calculated from
these statements; these ratios become part of the comprehensive analysis of profitability
and growth in Chapters 11 and 12.
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
291
The Analyst’s Checklist
After reading this chapter you should understand:
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
• Why the analyst reformulates income statements and
balance sheets.
• Reformulate income statements and balance sheets.
• How knowledge of the business is incorporated in
reformulated statements.
• Prepare a reformulated income statement on a comprehensive income basis.
• How operating and financing components of the two
statements are identified.
• Allocate income taxes between operating income and
financing income (or expense).
• What assets and liabilities typically fall into operating
and financing categories.
• Calculate effective tax rates for operations.
• Why income taxes are allocated to different parts of the
income statement.
• What balance sheet and income statement ratios reveal.
• How one learns about a firm’s strategy through the
financial statements.
• How firms manage “cash.”
• Add footnote information to reformulated statements.
• Prepare and interpret a common-size, comparative
analysis.
• Prepare and interpret a trend analysis.
• Calculate income statement ratios—including ratios that
reveal the profitability of sales.
• Calculate balance sheet ratios—including financial
leverage ratios and operating liability leverage ratios.
• Calculate summary profitability ratios.
• Calculate growth ratios.
REFORMULATION OF THE BALANCE SHEET
The typical balance sheet usually divides assets and liabilities into current and noncurrent
(long-term) categories. For assets, this division is based on liquidity, and for liabilities, it is
based on maturity, with the aim of giving an indication of the firm’s ability to meet creditors’ claims on cash. The analysis of credit risk in Chapter 19 will employ this division, but
in Chapter 7 we overrode this classification with one that identifies the different sources of
profitability, the operations and the financing activities. To discover a firm’s ability to generate profits, we need to reformulate the balance sheet into operating and financing assets
and liabilities. Following the template of Chapter 7, operating assets and liabilities net to
net operating assets (NOA), sometimes referred to as enterprise assets, and financing
assets and liabilities net to net financial assets (obligations).
Exhibit 9.1 lays out a typical balance sheet. It lists the standard line items you see in published statements. Balance sheets for specific firms do not include all these items, of course,
and some items are often aggregated or grouped into “other assets” or “other liabilities”
categories. In some industries you will see special line items that are not listed here.
From Chapter 7 you’ll remember that operating assets and liabilities are those involved
in the business, in selling goods and services. Financing assets and liabilities are those that
are involved in raising cash for operations and disbursing excess cash from operations.
Before reformulating the statement, be sure to have an answer to the question: What business is the firm in? For it is the answer to this question that defines the operating assets
and liabilities. Also keep in mind the parallel classification in the income statement
(discussed later): Operating assets and liabilities generate operating income and financial
292
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
EXHIBIT 9.1
The Typical GAAP
Balance Sheet
Assets
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current assets:
Cash
Cash equivalents
Short-term investments (marketable securities)
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
Accrued expenses
Deferred (unearned) revenues
Deposits and advances
Accounts receivable (less allowances)
Short-term notes receivable
Advances from customers
Warranty liabilities
Short-term notes payable
Other receivables
Inventories
Prepaid expenses
Short-term borrowings
Deferred taxes (current portion)
Current maturities of long-term debt
Deferred income taxes (current portion)
Long-term assets:
Noncurrent receivables
Long-term debt investments
Long-term equity investments—
less than 20% ownership
Long-term equity investments—
equity method
Property, plant, and equipment
(less accumulated depreciation)
Land
Buildings
Equipment
Leased assets
Leasehold improvements
Construction in progress
Intangible assets
Patents
Licenses, franchises, and business rights
Copyrights and trademarks
Goodwill
Software development costs
Deferred taxes (noncurrent portion)
Deferred charges
Long-term liabilities:
Bank loans
Bonds payable
Long-term notes payable
Lease obligations
Commitments and contingencies
Deferred taxes
Pension liabilities
Postemployment liabilities
Redeemable preferred stock
Minority interest
Preferred equity
Common equity
assets and liabilities are those that produce financial income or incur financial expenses.
See Box 9.1.
Issues in Reformulating Balance Sheets
The GAAP balance sheet for the typical nonfinancial firm is reformulated into operating
and financial items as in Exhibit 9.2. This layout follows the template in Chapter 7. Some
issues arise:
• Cash. Working cash, or operating cash, which is needed as a buffer to pay bills as they
fall due, is an operating asset. This is non–interest bearing, in the form of cash on hand or
in a checking account. Just as the firm needs to invest in plant and equipment to carry out
operations, it also has to invest in working cash. However, interest-bearing cash equivalents (investments with less than three months maturity) or cash invested in short-term
Knowing the Business:
What Business Is the Firm In?
9.1
Reformulating balance sheets involves distinguishing assets
and liabilities that are used in business operations—where the
firm makes its money—from assets and liabilities that are used
in financing—to raise cash for operations and temporarily
store excess cash from operations. A firm “makes its money”
by selling goods and services to customers, so identifying
operating assets requires knowledge of goods and services
the firm is delivering to customers.
Assets and liabilities with similar names on balance sheets
may be financing items for one firm but operating items for
another. Consider the following.
CAPTIVE FINANCE SUBSIDIARIES
BANKS
RETAILERS WITH CREDIT FACILITIES
Banks hold mainly (what look like) financial assets and financial liabilities in the form of customer deposits, bonds, and
loans. But they make money from the spread between the
interest they pay on their financial liabilities and the interest
they earn on their financial assets. These apparent financial
assets and liabilities are operating assets and liabilities.
Retailers make money from selling goods but often also make
money from providing credit to customers. Accordingly, their
interest income from credit cards they issue and other credit
facilities is operating income, and the financing receivables
that generate the income are operating assets.
EXHIBIT 9.2
The Classification
of Operating and
Financing Items in
the Balance Sheet for
Nonfinancial Firms
Automobile manufacturers like General Motors and Chrysler
consolidate finance subsidiaries into their financial statements. These finance subsidiaries hold (what look like)
financial assets and liabilities. But they are used to support
customers’ purchases of automobiles, and often generous
credit terms are used in promotions as effective price reductions. The finance subsidiaries are an integral part of operations and their assets and liabilities should be classified
as such. The interest earned from the financing is operating
income.
The Reformulated Balance Sheet
Assets
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Financial assets:
Cash equivalents
Short-term investments
Short-term notes receivable (?)
Long-term debt investments
Financial liabilities:
Short-term borrowings
Current maturities of long-term debt
Short-term notes payable (?)
Long-term borrowing (bank loans, bonds
payable, notes payable)
Lease obligations
Preferred stock
Operating assets:
All else
Operating liabilities:
All else
Minority interest
Common equity
securities are financial assets—they are investments of excess cash over that required to
meet liquidity demands. Typically firms lump cash and cash equivalents together, so
identifying the working cash is difficult. If the analyst knows the type of business well,
she might impute the required working cash (as a percentage of sales, say) but, as many
firms have cash swept daily into interest-bearing accounts, she would be safe in classifying all cash as a financial asset.
293
294
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
• Short-term notes receivable. Notes can be written by customers for goods received in
trade, with or without interest, and, with interest, by borrowers. If the notes are temporary investments, treat them as financial assets. If they are trade notes, treat them as operating assets. Trade notes can be treated as financial assets if they bear the market rate
of interest: The trade receivable has been converted to a financial claim. But if the firm
is using credit to attract customers, treat the notes as operating assets: The firm is effectively offering a lower interest rate instead of a lower price for goods shipped. Correspondingly, the interest income should be classified as operating income, part of the
income from selling goods with favorable credit terms. Finance receivables (for financing product sales) fall in the same category. See Box 9.1 again.
• Debt investments. For nonfinancial firms, investments in bonds and other interestbearing investments are financial assets. Under FASB Statement No. 115, both current
and noncurrent investments are marked to market (carried at market value on the balance sheet) if they are part of a trading portfolio or are available for sale, as we saw in
the last chapter. They are recorded at cost if the firm intends to hold them to maturity.
(The accounting for securities is covered in Accounting Clinic III in Chapter 8.) The
footnotes give a schedule of all securities showing their historical costs and current fair
values, along with the associated unrealized gains and losses which are income or expense in comprehensive income. If bonds are part of a trading portfolio, the firm is probably in the business of making money from bonds, so classify them as operating assets.
Banks make money on the spread between borrowing and lending rates, so in their case,
debt investments and liabilities are operating items.
• Long-term equity investments. Long-term equity investments (in the shares of other
firms) are investments in the operations of other companies, and so they are classified as
operating assets. If the holding is less than 20 percent of the shares of the other corporation, they are recorded on the balance sheet at market value if “available for sale” or at
cost if “held to maturity.” If the holding is greater than 20 percent and less than 50 percent, they are recorded as equity investments under the equity method. The equity
method carries these investments at cost plus accumulated share of income of the subsidiary, less dividends paid by the subsidiary and any write-offs of the goodwill on purchase. If the holding is greater than 50 percent, consolidation accounting combines the
financial statements of the related firms into one set of financial statements, so equity
investments do not appear on the consolidated statement. Go to Accounting Clinic V.
Equity investments in subsidiaries include the parent’s share of net financial assets of
subsidiaries. Thus they are investments in financial assets and obligations of these subsidiaries as well as their operating assets. Ideally we would like to go back into the subsidiaries’ financial statements to sort out the operating and financial activities and divide
the equity investments accordingly. This is often difficult to do if the subsidiary is not a
public corporation, so as an expediency, treat the entire investment as an investment in
an operating subsidiary.
• Short-term equity investments. Short-term marketable equity investments can be an exception to classifying equities as operating assets. If they are part of a trading portfolio,
they are operating assets. If they are used to temporarily mop up excess cash, they are
financial assets. These investments are marked to market.
• Short-term notes payable. Short-term notes can be written to generate cash, in which
case they are financial obligations. However, notes also can be written to satisfy trade
obligations, for the purchase of inventory, for example. If these are non–interest bearing,
or carry an interest rate less than the market rate for this type of credit, classify them as
operating liabilities; if they are interest bearing at market rates, treat them as financial
liabilities. A note written to satisfy a trade obligation results from operating activities but
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
Accounting Clinic
ACCOUNTING FOR EQUITY INVESTMENTS
AND ACCOUNTING FOR BUSINESS
COMBINATIONS
Accounting Clinic III covers the accounting for debt securities and equity securities that represent less than 20 percent ownership of another corporation. Accounting Clinic
V deals with equity investments of 20 percent–50 percent
ownership, where the equity method applies, and the case
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
295
V
of majority control (over 50 percent ownership), where
consolidation accounting applies.
Firms acquire shares of other firms in mergers and
acquisitions. Accounting Clinic V also covers the accounting for these business combinations, along with issues
related to recognition, amortization, and the impairment
of the goodwill acquired in business combinations.
if it is interest bearing at market rate, the operating liability (the accounts payable) has
effectively been converted into a financial liability (the note payable). In the United
States, GAAP requires the effective market rate of interest to be imputed on long-term
notes payable (and receivable) so those items should be classified as financial obligations.
Accrued expenses. These include liabilities to pay for the whole variety of operating
expenses, including rent, insurance, wages, and taxes. Treat them as operating liabilities.
But interest payable on financial obligations is a financing item.
Deferred revenues (Unearned revenues). These include receipts from customers that
are not yet recognized as revenue (because the firm has not performed on the sale) and
obligations to complete performance such as warranties and guarantees. Treat them as
operating liabilities.
Leases. Leases that are capitalized are placed on the asset side of the balance sheet as a
lease asset at the present value of the expected payouts under the lease agreement. The
lease asset is an operating asset. The lease obligation is reported under liabilities and
classified as a financial obligation in reformulated statements. Interest expense on the
lease obligation is reported with other interest expenses in the income statement. Leases
that are capitalized and placed on the balance sheet are called capital leases. Capital
leases are essentially in-substance purchases granting the firm a right to use the asset for
most of its useful life. Accordingly, if an asset satisfies criteria that indicate an insubstance purchase, the lease asset is treated similarly to any other property, plant, or
equipment. And the obligation to service the lease is treated as if the firm had purchased
the asset and borrowed to finance the purchase: The lease obligation is an effective loan
to finance the purchase of the asset. Leases that are deemed not to be effective purchases
are called operating leases. They do not appear on the balance sheet but the rent payments are included as rent expense in the income statement.
Deferred tax assets and liabilities. Deferred taxes arise almost always from accounting
differences in calculating the operating income component of taxable income and
reported book income. So treat them as operating assets or liabilities.
Dividends payable. These are classified as shareholders’ equity, not a liability, as
explained in the last chapter.
Preferred stock. From a common shareholders’ focus, preferred stock are financial
obligations.
“Other” items. Balance sheets typically have a line for “other assets” and “other liabilities.” The detail can be discovered from footnotes and sometimes from the management
discussion and analysis (MD&A). If these sources prove fruitless, usually these items
296
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
are considered operating. If any of the other liabilities are material amounts, firms are
required to disclose them.
• Minority interest. It might be tempting to view minority interest in a consolidated subsidiary as a financial obligation from the common shareholders’ point of view, an interest that has to be satisfied. But the minority interest is not an obligation, like debt, that
is satisfied with cash generated from free cash flow. Rather it is an equity sharing in the
results of the consolidated operations. In the reformulated statements treat it as a separate line item that shares with the common equity in the operating and financing assets
and liabilities. The reformulated statement with minority interest has the following
form: NOA − NFO = CSE + Minority interest.
Some people have trouble thinking of operating liabilities as part of operations and not
part of the financial indebtedness. Indeed, you may have seen these included in debt and
debt ratios in other books. As obligations to creditors, they are debt, and if we were making
calculations to evaluate credit risk—or the ability to pay off debt—we would include these
in relevant ratios (as in Chapter 19). However, our purpose here is to get a sense of operating profitability relative to the net assets put in place. And to the extent that a firm has operating liabilities, it reduces its net investment in operations, its net operating assets. Return
on net operating assets (RNOA) compares operating income to the investment in net operating assets; to the extent that a firm can induce suppliers to give credit, this reduces the
investment and increases the return on net operating assets. Just as firms lever up return on
equity through financial liabilities, so they lever up return on operating assets with operating liabilities. The following examples illustrate:
• Dell, Inc. is renowned in the computer business for its made-to-order system that keeps
its investment in inventories low. Dell’s fiscal 2008 balance sheet (in Chapter 2) reports
$1,180 million in inventory, only 1.9 percent of sales.
However, Dell also reports $11,492 million in accounts payable. Dell has managed
to get inventory suppliers to give credit to “finance” the inventory (and other supplies),
so, in effect, Dell has negative investment in inventory. This generates value for shareholders as the shareholders do not need to use their funds to purchase inventories;
indeed, creditors have supplied funds to finance other operating assets besides inventory.
And shareholders need not service interest on financing debt.
• Oracle Corporation, the large software and information management firm, reports deferred revenue of $4,754 million as a liability in its 2008 balance sheet. This is cash that
has been given to Oracle by customers in advance of receiving services from the firm.
This cash generates shareholder value because it can be used to purchase operating assets
for which shareholders would otherwise have to provide funds.
• General Motors, the automobile manufacturer, has a program to pay health benefits to
employees after they retire. An amount of $43.4 billion was reported as a liability on its
2007 balance sheet for obligations under this benefit plan. The plan pays benefits later
rather than using cash for wages that would be higher without the health benefits. The
liability, like wages payable, arises from operations. So does its 2007 pension liability of
$11.4 billion.
• Whirpool Corporation, the appliance manufacturer, included sales warranties of $226
million in its accrued liabilities for 2007. These obligations to service sales effectively net
against receivables and cash from the sales.
Exhibit 9.3 reproduces the published comparative balance sheets for Nike, Inc., for
2006–2008, along with reformulated balance sheets. We introduced Nike in the last chapter
with a reformulation of its equity statement. Notice several things about the reformulated
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
EXHIBIT 9.3
GAAP Consolidated
Balance Sheets and
Reformulated
Balance Sheets for
Nike, Inc.,
2006–2008.
The reformulated
balance sheet
reformats the GAAP
statement into net
operating assets
(operating assets
minus operating
liabilities), net
financial assets
(financial assets minus
financial obligations),
and common
shareholders’ equity
(net operating assets
plus net financial
assets).
Numbers in
parentheses to the right
of the reformulated
statement refer to
points on the
reformulation made
in the text.
297
NIKE, INC.
GAAP Balance Sheets
(in millions)
May 31
2008
2007
2006
$ 2,133.9
642.2
2,795.3
$ 1,856.7
990.3
2,494.7
$ 954.2
1,348.8
2,395.9
2,438.4
227.2
602.3
2,121.9
219.7
393.2
2,076.7
203.3
380.1
8,839.3
1,891.1
743.1
448.8
520.4
$12,442.7
8,076.5
1,678.3
409.9
130.8
392.8
$10,688.3
7,359.0
1,657.7
405.5
130.8
316.6
9,869.6
$
30.5
100.8
1,040.3
1,303.4
109.0
255.3
43.4
952.2
1,286.9
85.5
3,321.5
2,584.0
2,623.3
441.1
854.5
409.9
668.7
410.7
550.1
0.3
0.3
0.3
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and equivalents
Short-term investments
Accounts receivable, net
Inventories (Note 2)
Deferred income taxes (Note 8)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Total current assets
Property, plant, and equipment, net (Note 3)
Identifiable intangible assets, net (Note 4)
Goodwill (Note 4)
Deferred income taxes and other assets (Note 8)
Total assets
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Current portion of long-term debt (Note 7)
Notes payable (Note 6)
Accounts payable (Note 6)
Accrued liabilities (Notes 5 and 16)
Income taxes payable
Total current liabilities
Long-term debt (Note 7)
Deferred income taxes and other liabilities (Note 8)
Commitments and contingencies (Notes 14 and 16)
Redeemable Preferred Stock (Note 9)
$
6.3
177.7
1,287.6
1,761.9
88.0
Shareholders’ equity:
Common stock at stated value (Note 10):
Class A convertible—96.8 and 117.6 shares
outstanding
0.1
0.1
0.1
Class B—394.3 and 384.1 shares outstanding
Capital in excess of stated value
Accumulated other comprehensive income (Note 13)
2.7
2,497.8
251.4
2.7
1,960.0
177.4
2.7
1,451.4
117.6
Retained earnings
5,073.3
4,885.2
4,713.4
7,825.3
7,025.4
6,285.2
$12,442.7
$10,688.3
9,869.6
Total shareholders’ equity
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity
Notes refer to notes in the published financial statements. Refer to the 2008 10-K report.
(continued)
298
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
EXHIBIT 9.3 (concluded )
Reformulated Balance Sheets (in millions)
2008
Net operating assets
Operating assets
Working cash1
2007
$
93.1
$
2006
81.6
$
74.8
Accounts receivable, less allowance for
doubtful accounts
Inventories
2,795.3
2,438.4
2,494.7
2,121.9
2,395.9
2,076.7
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Property, plant, and equipment, net
Goodwill
602.3
1,891.1
448.8
393.2
1,678.3
130.8
380.1
1657.7
130.8
Identifiable intangible assets
Deferred income taxes and other assets
Total operating assets
Operating liabilities
Accounts payable—non–interest
bearing2
Accrued liabilities3
Income taxes payable
Deferred income taxes and other
liabilities
Net operating assets
Net financial assets
Financial assets
Cash equivalents1
Short-term investments
Total financial assets
Financial liabilities
Current portion of long-term debt
Notes payable4
Accounts payable—interest bearing2
Long-term debt
Redeemable preferred stock
Total financial liabilities
Common Shareholders’ equity 3
743.1
409.9
405.5
747.6
9,759.7
612.5
7,922.9
519.9
7,641.4
$1,221.7
1,790.0
88.0
854.5
$ 995.7
1,210.5
109.2
3,954.2
5,805.5
668.7
$ 882.5
1,207.4
85.5
2,983.9
4,939.0
550.1
2,040.8
642.2
2,683.0
1,775.1
990.3
2,765.4
879.4
1,348.8
2,228.2
6.3
177.7
65.9
441.1
0.3
691.3
30.5
100.8
44.6
409.9
0.3
586.1
255.3
43.4
69.7
410.7
0.3
779.4
1,991.7
7,797.3
2,179.3
7,118.3
(4)
(6)
2,725.5
4,915.9
(1)(2)
(4)
1,448.8
6,364.7
(5)
(1)(3)
(1)(6)
1
Cash and cash equivalents are split between operating cash and cash investments. Operating cash is estimated at 1/2 percent of sales.
Interest-bearing accounts payable are classified as financing obligations.
Accrued liabilities exclude dividends payable that have been included in shareholders’ equity and include stock compensation liability removed from shareholders’ equity.
4
Notes payable are interest bearing.
Some items may not total precisely due to rounding error.
2
3
statement (numbers below correspond to the numbers flagging items in the reformulated
statement):
1. The reformulation maintains the balance sheet equation: CSE = NOA − NFO. The
balances of common shareholders’ equity (CSE) agree with those in the reformulated
equity statement (in Chapter 8)
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
299
2. Net operating assets (NOAs) is the difference between operating assets and operating
liabilities.
3. Net financial assets (NFAs) is the difference between financial assets and financial
obligations.
4. Cash and cash equivalents have been divided up between operating cash and financial
assets. Operating cash has been estimated at 1/2 percent of sales.
5. Redeemable preferred stock is a financial obligation.
6. Dividends payable, reported as an accrued liability in the GAAP statement, is included
in shareholders’ equity (as in the reformulated equity statement in Chapter 8). Stockbased compensation, included in shareholders’ equity in the GAAP statement, is included in accrued liabilities (following Chapter 8).
7. The diligent analyst reviews the notes to the financial statements and brings further information onto the face of the reformulated statements. Look into “other assets” and
“other liabilities” items particularly and also “accrued liabilities.” If long-term investments are reported, check footnotes to see if these are equity investments (an operating
asset) or debt investments (a financial asset).
Strategic Balance Sheets
A reformulated balance sheet gives insight into how a firm organizes its business. Indeed,
we might refer to it as a strategic balance sheet.
Nike’s reformulated balance sheet tells us that Nike conducts business by investing
shareholders’ equity in net operating assets with additional investment in net financial
assets. It gives the composition of both, along with changes from the previous year. The
positive net financial assets reveal the firm’s current financing strategy: Rather than financing operations through borrowing, the firm does so through equity and indeed is a net
lender rather than borrower. Operating assets list the type of assets that the firm invests in
to run the business, while the operating liabilities indicate how much operating credit suppliers provide to finance those assets. These liabilities are not financing debt, for they arise
from operations and indeed mean that Nike does not have to issue financing debt to finance
the operations. They are also financing that shareholders do not have to provide. Indeed,
due partly to supplier credit, Nike has significant financial assets that it can pay out in dividends or stock repurchases to shareholders (which it subsequently did).
Exhibits 9.4 and 9.5 present strategic balance sheets for Dell, Inc., and General Mills,
Inc. The GAAP balance sheet for Dell is given in the Exhibit 2.1 in Chapter 2. What do
these statements say about the strategies of these firms?
Dell, Inc.
Dell has a large amount of financial assets and little debt. So, like Nike, it has net financial
assets rather than net financial obligations; the firm generates considerable cash flow and invests that cash flow in interest-bearing securities. But the striking feature of Dell’s strategic
balance sheet is the negative net operating assets: Shareholders’ equity in 2008 is represented by a net investment in financial assets of $8.811 billion and a negative investment in
operations of –$5.076 billion. This is rare for a manufacturing firm. How can it be? Well, it
reflects Dell’s strategy: Keep operating assets low with just-in-time inventory, require a
credit card before shipping retail customer sales (thus keeping accounts receivable low), outsource production (reducing investment in plant and equipment), require cash up front for
servicing contracts (and thus amass large deferred revenues), and, importantly, require suppliers to carry Dell’s payables and thus supply operating credit. Accordingly, shareholders
have a negative investment in the firm. That negative investment means that they can take
300
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
EXHIBIT 9.4
DELL, INC.
Reformulated,
Strategic Balance
Sheet for Dell, Inc.,
2008
Strategic Comparative Balance Sheet, 2008
(In millions of dollars)
2008
Operating assets
Working cash
2007
$
40
$
40
Accounts receivables
Financing receivables
5,961
2,139
4,622
1,853
Inventories
Property, plant, and equipment
Goodwill
1,180
2,668
1,648
660
2,409
110
780
3,653
18,069
45
3,491
13,230
Intangible assets
Other assets
Operating liabilities
Accounts payable
Accrued liabilities
Deferred service revenue
Other liabilities
Net operating assets
Net financial assets
Cash Equivalents
Short-term investments
Long-term investments
Short-term borrowing
Long-term debt
Redeemable stock
Common shareholders’ equity
$11,492
4,323
5,260
2,070
7,724
208
1,560
9,492
(225)
(362)
(94)
23,145
(5,076)
8,811
3,735
$10,430
5,141
4,221
647
9,506
752
2,147
12,405
(188)
(569)
(111)
20,439
(7,209)
11,537
4,328
cash out of the firm to invest elsewhere, as they do in the form of stock repurchases. In short,
the shareholders of Dell are playing a float. That play adds value, as we will see when we
come to value Dell. At this point it is important to appreciate how the reformulated, strategic balance sheet provides insights into the value generation that we wish to evaluate.
An insurance company works on a float to add value. Minicase 9.2 prepares a strategic
balance sheet for a property casualty insurer that becomes the starting point for valuation.
General Mills, Inc.
Both Nike and Dell have positive net financial assets (negative net financial obligations).
General Mills in Exhibit 9.5 is more typical with more financing debt than debt assets held.
Thus it is a net debtor: The financing strategy involves taking on leverage through borrowing. The firm has $18.431 billion in operating assets to finance, with considerable investment in land, building, and equipment and intangible assets (these are investments in
purchasing its many brands such as Pillsbury, Progresso, Green Giant, Old El Paso, HäagenDazs, and Uncle Tobys). It also has invested a considerable amount in acquisitions, as indicated by the $6.768 billion goodwill number. With $5.584 billion in operating liabilities, net
operating assets stand at $12,847 billion, of which about half is financed by borrowing and
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
EXHIBIT 9.5
301
GENERAL MILLS, INC.
Reformulated,
Strategic Balance
Sheet for General
Mills, Inc., 2008
Strategic Comparative Balance Sheet, 2008
(in millions of dollars)
2008
Operating assets
Working cash
2007
$
50
$
50
Receivables
Inventories
1,082
1,367
953
1,173
Prepaid expenses
Land, building, and equipment
Goodwill
511
3,108
6,786
444
3,014
6,835
Intangible assets
Deferred tax assets
Other assets
3,777
1,750
3,694
67
1,587
18,431
17,817
Operating liabilities
Accounts payable
Deferred tax liabilities
Other liabilities
Net operating assets
Net financial obligations
Current portion of debt
Notes payable
Long-term debt
Cash equivalents
Minority interest
Common shareholders’ equity
$ 937
1,483
3,164
442
2,209
4,349
(611)
5,584
12,847
6,389
6,458
242
6,216
$ 778
1,433
3,309
1,734
1,254
3,218
(367)
5,520
12,297
5,839
6,458
1,139
5,319
half by common shareholders plus small minority equity interests in subsidiaries. Note that
minority interest in a subsidiary is not a financing obligation but rather an equity share that
shares in the subsidiary with the common shareholders at General Mills.
Net financial assets (“cash”) are also strategic assets. Box 9.2 explains.
REFORMULATION OF THE INCOME STATEMENT
The income statement reports the profits and losses that the net operating assets and net
financial assets have produced. The presentation of the GAAP statement varies, but the
typical line items found in the income statement are given in Exhibit 9.6.
The reformulated statement groups these items into operating and financing categories.
However, the reformulated statement is on a comprehensive basis, so it also includes dirtysurplus items reported within the equity statement. Exhibit 9.7 gives the layout. The two
components in the template in Chapter 7—operating income and net financial expense—
are identified, with dirty-surplus income and expense associated with each included
(including hidden items discovered in the reformulation of the equity statement). Operating income is sometimes referred to as enterprise income or net operating profit after
Strategic Cash
Financial assets (in the form of cash and cash equivalents and
short-term and long-term debt investments) are sometimes
just referred to as “cash.” Having identified these financial
assets, the analyst asks: What does the firm intend to do with
the “cash?” As a basic rule, firms should not hold cash without purpose, but rather pass it out to shareholders: Cash is a
zero residual earnings asset (adding no value) that shareholders can just as well hold on their own account. Indeed, they
may have investment opportunities to use the cash. Financial
assets are held for the following (financing, investment, and
operating) purposes:
1. For payout to shareholders (in dividends and stock repurchases) in the immediate future.
2. For payment of an upcoming debt maturity. (The payment
does not affect net financial assets.)
3. For capital expenditures or acquisitions in the immediate
future.
4. As “insurance” against bad times in operations: If cash
flow turns negative, the firm has financial assets to alleviate the cash crunch.
The first use, payout to shareholders, is the default. After reporting considerable financial assets in its 2008 balance sheet,
Nike announced a stock repurchase program as well as an increase in dividends. Dell, with significant financial assets, has a
continuing stock repurchase program. Neither appears to have a
significant acquisition or capital expenditure program other than
replacing existing investments, and neither has significant debt
to retire. If cash were held for investment in operations, the
analyst would be keen to discover the investment strategy.
The fourth use of financial assets is often controversial.
Firms can borrow in difficult times if firm value is there to back
up the loans; if the value is not there, the shareholders may
be better off with liquidation of the firm, with the cash from
financial assets paid out earlier safely in their pockets. Some
9.2
complain that financial assets cushion management rather
than shareholders. Nevertheless, borrowing in bad times is
difficult—particularly when credit contracts generally in the
economy as it did in the financial crisis of 2008—so firms may
hold cash as protection. General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler,
the U.S. automobile firms, traditionally held large amounts
of cash, and angry shareholders often demanded payout. The
firms always replied that the cash was needed for a “rainy day.”
Indeed, General Motors held $52.6 billion in cash in 2005, but
a “cash burn” subsequently ensued as the firm reported considerable losses in its operations, leaving it with little in cash in
2008 but saving it from immediate illiquidity. (Whether shareholders were better off is another issue.) If financial assets are
used in operations in this way, they must be classified as operating assets and charged with the required (risky) return in a
valuation: The cash is being put as risk in operations.
FINANCIAL ASSETS AS A MINIMUM
VALUATION
Benjamin Graham, in the depths of the 1930s depression, advised buying firms whose market price was lower than their
cash value (more common then than now). Having identified
net financial assets and net operating assets we can view the
valuation of common equity as
Value of common equity = Value of net operating assets
+ Value of net financial assets
If the equity is trading at less than the value of the net financial
assets, the market is implicitly saying that the firm (the enterprise) has a negative value. Typically the equity is worth at least
the net financial assets, so cash supplies the minimum valuation
(before adding the value of the business). Dell traded at $10.20
in December 2008. With $8.811 billion of net financial assets on
its strategic balance sheet and 2.060 billion shares outstanding,
the minimum per-share value is $4.28. The market was valuing
Dell’s operations at $5.92.
tax (NOPAT). Within operating income, further distinctions are made. We need to understand the profitability of trading with customers, so operating income from sales is distinguished from operating income not coming from sales. For example, equity income in
subsidiaries, booked under the equity method, is a net number—sales minus operating
expenses in the subsidiary—and is not generated by top-line sales. Nor are merger charges
or gains and losses on asset sales, for example. Finally, the reformulated statement allocates
taxes so that income in each part of the statement is net of taxes it attracts.
Tax Allocation
Income taxes are reported in two ways. The income tax expense reported in the income statement applies to income above the tax line in the income statement. The firm may also pay
taxes on items below the tax line, including the income reported in the equity statement.
302
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
EXHIBIT 9.6
The Typical GAAP
Income Statement
303
Net sales (sales minus allowances)
+ Other revenue (royalties, rentals, license fees)
− Cost of sales
= Gross margin
− Marketing and advertising expenses
− General expenses
− Administrative expenses
± Special items and nonrecurring items
Restructuring charges
Merger expenses
Gains and losses on asset sales
Asset impairments
Litigation settlements
Environmental remediation
− Research and development expense
+ Interest revenue
− Interest (expense)
± Realized gains and losses on securities
± Unrealized gains and losses on trading securities
+ Equity share in subsidiary income
− Income before tax
= Income taxes
− Income before extraordinary items and discontinued operations
± Discontinued operations
± Extraordinary items
Gains and losses on debt retirement
Abnormal gains and losses in operations
− Minority interest
= Net income or loss
However, extraordinary items and other items below the tax line are reported net of tax, as
are the dirty-surplus items. Thus no tax needs to be allocated to them. These after-tax items
have been listed below the items to which the reported tax expense applies, in both operating and financing sections in the template in Exhibit 9.7.
The two components of income, operating and financing, both have tax consequences.
Only one income tax number is reported in income statements, so this number must be
allocated to the two components to put both on an after-tax basis. Referred to as tax allocation, this is done by first calculating the tax benefit of deducting net interest expense on
debt for tax purposes and allocating it to operating income. The tax benefit—sometimes
referred to as the tax shield from debt—is calculated as
Tax benefit = Net interest expense × Tax rate
and the after-tax net interest expense is
After-tax net interest expense = Net interest expense × (1 − Tax rate)
Firms are taxed on a schedule of tax rates, depending on the size of their income. The tax
rate used in the calculation is the marginal tax rate, the highest rate at which income is
taxed, for interest expense reduces taxes at this rate. This marginal rate is not to be confused
with the effective tax rate, which is tax expense divided by income before tax in the income
statement (and incorporates any tax benefits the firm generates). The effective tax rate is
304
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
EXHIBIT 9.7
The Form of the
Reformulated
Comprehensive
Income Statement
(1) Operating items
are separated from
financing items.
(2) Operating income
from sales is separated
from other operating
income. (3) Tax is
allocated to
components of the
statement, with no
allocation to items
reported on an aftertax basis
Reformulated Comprehensive Income Statement
Net sales
− Expenses to generate sales
Operating income from sales (before tax)
− Tax on operating income from sales
+ Tax as reported
+ Tax benefit from net financial expenses
− Tax allocated to other operating income
Operating income from sales (after tax)
± Other operating income (expense) requiring tax allocation
Restructuring charges and asset impairments
Merger expenses
Gains and losses on asset sales
Gains and losses on security transactions
− Tax on other operating income
± After-tax operating items
Equity share in subsidiary income
Operating items in extraordinary income
Dirty-surplus operating items in Table 8.1
Hidden dirty-surplus operating items
Operating income (after tax)
− Net financial expenses after tax
+ Interest expense
− Interest revenue
± Realized gains and losses on financial assets
= Net financial expense before tax
− Tax benefit from net financial expenses
= Net financial expenses after tax
± Gains and losses on debt retirement
± Dirty-surplus financial items in Table 8.1 (including preferred dividends)
± Hidden dirty-surplus financing items
− Minority interest
= Comprehensive income to common
reported in footnotes, but it is not to be used for the tax allocation. With little gradation in
tax rates in the United States, the marginal rate is almost always the maximum statutory tax
rate for federal and state taxes combined. These rates are reported in the tax footnote or can
be inferred there.
Without the tax benefit of debt, taxes on operating income would be higher, so the
amount of the benefit that reduces the net interest expense is allocated to operating income.
Thus the tax on operating income is
Tax on operating income = Tax expense as reported + (Net interest expense × Tax rate)
If there is net interest income (more financial assets than financial obligations), then the
financial activities attract tax rather than reduce it, and this tax reduces the tax on operating
activities. In both cases, the idea is to calculate after-tax operating income that is insensitive to the financing activities: What would after-tax operating income be if there were no
financing activities? This provides a measure of the profitability from operations that takes
into account the tax consequences of conducting operations.
The one circumstance where this tax calculation is not done is when the firm cannot get
the benefit of tax deduction for interest expense because it has losses for tax purposes.
In this case the marginal tax rate is zero. But this is not common in the United States. A net
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
VI
Accounting Clinic
ACCOUNTING FOR INCOME TAXES
Income taxes are recorded by matching taxes with the
income that draws the tax, so the analyst understands the
after-tax consequences of earnings income (or losses). As
the income may not be taxed (on the firm’s tax return) at the
same time as it is reported (in the income statement), this
matching leads to deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax
assets.
305
Accounting Clinic VI takes you through the details of
deferred tax accounting and covers other tax issues such
as operating loss carryforwards and valuation allowances
against deferred tax assets. It also shows how taxes are
allocated over various components of income in reported
financial statements.
operating loss (or NOL) for tax purposes can be carried back and deducted from taxable
income in the previous two years or carried forward to income for 20 future years. So a
firm loses the tax benefit only if the loss cannot be absorbed into taxable income over the
carryback and carryforward periods.
Preferred dividends typically are not deductible in calculating taxes, so no benefit
arises. An exception is preferred dividends paid to an ESOP for which the tax benefit is
recognized as a dirty-surplus item and brought into the income statement. In a recent
innovation, firms issue preferred stock through a wholly owned trust from which firms
borrow the proceeds of the issue. In the consolidation of the trust into the firm’s accounts,
the firm gets the tax benefits of interest paid to the trust and recognizes the preferred
dividends paid by the trust. This effectively gives the firm a tax benefit for the preferred
dividends paid.
Returning to Exhibit 9.7, you see that tax on financing activities has been calculated
on items that attract or reduce taxes (interest), but not on items, such as preferred dividends, that do not, or on items that are reported after tax. The tax benefit from financing activities is then added to the reported tax to calculate the tax on operating income.
The tax on operating income from sales is then reduced by the amount of tax that other
operating income attracts. Accordingly, tax is allocated within the statement to the income it attracts, with components that reduce taxes allocated a negative tax. Box 9.3
gives a simple example and contrasts the top-down approach, outlined above, with a
bottom-up approach.
The tax allocation produces a revised effective tax rate that applies to the operations:
Effective tax rate for operations =
Tax on operating income
Operating income before tax, equity income,
and extraordinary and dirty-surplus items
The benefits of tax planning (from using investment tax allowances and credits, and locating
operations in low-tax jurisdictions for example) arise from operations. The effective tax rate
is a measure of those benefits. As income from equity in subsidiaries, extraordinary items,
and dirty-surplus items is reported after tax, the denominator excludes these income items.
Accounting Clinic VI deals with the accounting for income taxes.
Before proceeding, look at Box 9.4.
Top-Down and Bottom-Up Methods
of Tax Allocation
9.3
The allocation of taxes to calculate operating income after tax is applied to the simple income statement on the left using a
top-down approach and a bottom-up approach. The firm has a 35 percent statutory tax rate.
GAAP
Income Statement
Revenue
Operating expenses
Interest expense
Income before tax
Income tax expense
Net income
Top-Down
Tax Allocation
$4,000
(3,400)
(100)
500
(150)
$ 350
Revenue
Operating expenses
Operating income before tax
Tax expense:
Tax reported
Tax benefit for interest
($100 x 0.35)
Operating income after tax
Bottom-Up
Tax Allocation
$4,000
(3,400)
600
$150
35
Net income
Interest expense
Tax benefit
Operating income after tax
$350
$100
35
65
$415
(185)
$ 415
The top-down approach adjusts the reported tax for that which applies to financing activities. The bottom-up approach
works up from the bottom line, net income, and calculates operating income after-tax as net income adjusted for the after-tax
financing component of net income.
The effective tax rate on operating income is $185/$600 = 30.8%. Why is this rate less than the statutory tax rate of 35 percent? Well, because operations generate tax benefits. So, if the firm receives research and development tax credits or credits for
investment in certain industrial zones, it lowers its tax rate. These credits arise from operations, so the operations are allocated
the benefit. Financing activities draw no such benefit, so are taxed at the statutory rate.
Issues in Reformulating Income Statements
Apart from the tax allocation, reformulating the income statement, as with the balance
sheet, is a mechanical reclassification exercise. But, as with the balance sheet, the analyst
must know the business. Interest income is usually earned on financial assets, but interest
income on a finance receivable from financing customer purchases is operating income.
The following issues arise in the reformulation:
• Lack of disclosure is often a problem:
The share of income of a subsidiary may include both financing income and operating income, but the two components are often not identifiable. As the investment in the
subsidiary in the balance sheet is identified as an operating item, so should this corresponding income statement item.
Dividing currency translation gains and losses into financing and operating components is often difficult.
Detailing some expenses is often frustrating. In particular, selling, administrative,
and general expenses are usually a large number with little explanation provided in the
footnotes.
Interest income is often lumped together with “other income” from operations. If this
is the case, estimate interest income by applying an interest rate to the average balances
of financial assets during the period. If financial assets are all current assets, this rate is
the short-term interest rate.
306
Beware of the Term “Operating Income”
9.4
\
The term operating income is used to mean different things in
different circumstances:
1. Even though GAAP does not recognize the term, firms
sometimes tag a line in their income statement as Operating Income. However, the analyst must be careful. Operating income so reported often includes interest income on
financial assets and excludes some expenses associated
with operations.
2. Operating Income is used by (Wall) Street analysts to refer
to recurring income, that is, income adjusted for one-time
charges such as restructuring charges and gains from asset
sales.
3. Firms sometimes refer to operating income—or pro forma
income—in their press releases as different from GAAP
income. Be particularly careful in this case. These pro
forma income numbers sometimes exclude significant
expenses.
4. Operating income is also used in the way it is defined in the
chapter. As such, it also goes under the name of NOPAT,
net operating profit after tax. Sometimes it is referred to
as enterprise income.
• Abnormal gains and losses in extraordinary items are, along with income from discontinued operations, operating items, but gains and losses from debt retirement, also in
extraordinary items, are financing items.
• Under GAAP, interest that finances construction is capitalized into the cost of assets on
the balance sheet. It is treated as a construction cost just like the labor and materials that
go into the asset. This accounting practice confuses operating and financing activities;
labor and material costs are investments in assets, and interest costs are costs of financing assets. The result may be that little interest expense appears in the income statement
for debt on the balance sheet. But it is difficult to unscramble this capitalized interest:
It is depreciated, along with other construction costs, through to the income statement
and so is hard to trace. As the depreciation expense that includes interest is an operating
expense, the practice also distorts the operating profitability.
• Reformulated statements can be prepared for segments of the firm—from the detail provided in the footnotes—to reveal more of the operations.
Analysis of the equity statement is a prerequisite for the reformulation of the income
statement, for that reformulation identifies dirty-surplus items—including the hidden
items—that have to be brought into the income statement. Exhibit 9.8 gives the reformulated equity statement for Nike, with comprehensive income—to which the reformulated
income statement must total—identified.
EXHIBIT 9.8
Reformulated
Statement of
Shareholders’ Equity
for Nike, Inc.
(in millions).
The statement identifies
$1,931.8 million in
comprehensive income.
$7,118.3
Balance at May 31, 2007
Transactions with shareholders
Stock issued for stock options
Stock issued to employees (net)
Stock repurchased
Cash dividends
Comprehensive income
Net income reported
Net translation gains and losses
Net hedging gains and losses
Prior earnings restatements
Balance at May 31, 2008
$ 372.2
35.8
(1,248.0)
(412.8)
(1,252.8)
1,883.4
165.6
(91.6)
(25.7)
1,931.8
7,797.3
307
308
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
Exhibit 9.9 gives the GAAP comparative income statement for Nike for 2008, along with
the reformulated statement. Note the following in the reformulated statement (numbers flag
items in the exhibit):
1. Dirty-surplus items have been brought into the statement so the “bottom line” for
2008 is the comprehensive income calculated in Exhibit 9.8 (and so for 2007 and
2006).
2. The reformulation distinguishes operating income that comes from sales from operating income that does not come from sales. This distinction gives a clean measure of
the profit margin from sales and also a clean measure of the effective tax rate on
operating income. Operating income from items reported net of tax are separately
identified.
3. Taxes have been allocated using federal and state statutory rates, 35 percent for the federal rate plus the state 1.4 percent rate. The rates are ascertained from the tax footnote.
Nike’s effective tax rate on operating income from sales for 2008 is 24.06 percent
(569.3/2,365.2 = 24.06%).
4. Detail on expenses has been discovered in the footnotes. However, more detail on the
large administrative and general expenses is not available. You will often be frustrated
by such a lack of disclosure.
The reformulation of Nike’s financial statements for prior years is continued on the
BYOAP feature on the book’s Web site. See Box 9.5.
EXHIBIT 9.9
GAAP Consolidated
Statements of Income
and Reformulated
Income Statements
for Nike, Inc.,
2006–2008.
The reformulated
statement reformats
the GAAP statement
into operating income
(operating revenue
minus operating
expense) and net
financial income
(financial income
minus financial
expense), adds dirtysurplus income items,
and makes the
appropriate tax
allocation. Numbers
to the right of the
reformulated statement
refer to points on the
reformulation in the
text.
NIKE, INC.
GAAP Income Statements
(in millions, except per-share data)
Year Ended May
Revenues
Cost of sales
Gross margin
Selling and administrative expense
Interest income, net (Notes 1, 6, and 7)
Other (expense) income, net (Notes 15 and 16)
Income before income taxes
Income taxes (Note 8)
Net income
Basic earnings per common share
(Notes 1 and 11)
2008
2007
2006
$18,627.0
10,239.6
8,387.4
5,953.7
77.1
(7.9)
2,502.9
619.5
$ 1,883.4
$16,325.9
9,165.4
7,160.5
5,028.7
67.2
0.9
2,199.9
708.4
$ 1,491.5
$14,954.9
8,367.9
6,587.0
4,477.8
36.8
(4.4)
2,141.6
749.6
$ 1,392.0
$
$
2.96
$
2.69
3.80
Diluted earnings per common share
(Notes 1 and 11)
$
3.74
$
2.93
$
2.64
Dividends declared per common share
$
0.875
$
0.71
$
0.59
Notes refer to notes in the published statements. Refer to 2008 10-K.
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
309
EXHIBIT 9.9 (concluded)
Reformulated Income Statements
(in millions of dollars)
2008
2007
2006
Operating revenues
Cost of sales
18,627.0
10,239.6
16,325.9
9,165.4
14,954.9
8,367.9
Gross margin
Operating expenses
8,387.4
7,160.5
6,587.0
Administrative expenses
Advertising1
Other income (expense)2
Operating income from sales (before tax)
Taxes
Taxes as reported
3,116.3
2,737.6
1,912.4
0.9
2132.7
1,740.2 (4)
(4.4) (4)
2104.8
619.5
Tax on financial items and other
operating income (28.1 + 22.1 in 2008)3
Operating income from sales (after tax)
Other operating income (before tax items)
Gains on divestitures2
Tax on divestiture gains3
Other operating income (after tax items)
Currency translation gains (losses)4
(50.2)
60.6
22.1
Hedging gains (losses)4
Effect of accounting changes4
Operating income (after tax)
Financing income (expense)
Interest income5
Interest expense
Net interest income
Tax effect (at 36.4%)3
Net interest expense after tax
Preferred dividends6
Net financing income after tax
Comprehensive income
(4)
3,645.4
2,308.3
(68.5)
2,365.2
708.4
569.3
1,795.9
(24.5)
749.6
683.9
1,448.8
(13.3)
736.3
1,368.6
(3)
(2)
(2)(3)
38.5
165.6
(91.6)
(25.7)
1,882.7
84.6
(16.7)
135.5
1,652.2
87.1 (1)(2)
(38.8) (1)(2)
11.5 (1)(2)
1,428.4
115.8
38.7
77.1
28.1
49.0
0.0
49.0
1,931.8
116.9
49.7
67.2
24.5
42.7
0.0
42.7
1,694.8
87.3
50.7
36.6
13.3
23.3
0.0
23.3
1,451.8
(4)
(3)
(1)
(1)
1
Broken out from selling and administrative expenses.
Other expenses in the GAAP statement in 2008 included gains from divestitures.
Statutory tax rate is 36.4%, including both federal and state taxes. See tax footnote.
4
These items are dirty-surplus income reported in the equity statement.
5
Interest income is netted against interest expense in the GAAP statements.
6
Preferred dividends are less than $0.05 million.
Some columns may not add due to rounding error.
2
3
Value Added to Strategic Balance Sheets
A reformulated income statement identifies the earnings flowing from the strategic balance
sheet; operating income reports the earnings flowing from the net operating assets; and net
financing income (expense) reports the earnings flowing from the net financial assets
(obligations).
Exhibits 9.10 and 9.11 present the reformulated income statements for Dell, Inc., and
General Mills, Inc. Dell reports net financial income flowing from the large net financial
Nike, Inc., 2002–2008
9.5
The reformulation of Nike’s 2006–2008 financial statements in this chapter continues an analysis of the firm on the Build Your
Own Analysis Product (BYOAP) feature on the book’s Web site. By going to this feature, you can trace Nike over an extended
period, giving yourself more information for a valuation in 2008. Below are some summary numbers from the reformulated
statements on BYOAP (in millions of dollars).
Sales
Operating income (after tax)
Comprehensive income
Net operating assets
Net financial obligations
Common shareholders’ equity
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
18,627
1,883
1,932
5,806
(1,992)
7,797
16,326
1,652
1,695
4,939
(2,179)
7,118
14,955
1,428
1,452
4,916
(1,499)
6,364
13,740
1,457
1,433
4,782
(939)
5,721
12,253
1,035
1,019
4,551
(289)
4,840
10,697
424
406
4,330
302
4,028
9,893
620
599
4,460
616
3,495
EXHIBIT 9.10
Reformulated Income
Statement for Dell,
Inc., for Fiscal Year
2008
Dell’s comprehensive
income comes from
revenues from
customers, other
operating income, and
net financing income
from its considerable
net financial assets.
Each component of
the income statement
carries the appropriate
tax allocation.
DELL, INC.
Reformulated Comparative Income Statement for Fiscal Year 2008
(in millions of dollars)
Year Ending February 1
2008
Operating revenues
Cost of revenue
Gross margin
Operating expenses
Administrative and general expenses
Advertising expenses
Research and development
Operating income from sales (before tax)
Taxes
Taxes as reported
Taxes on net financial income
Operating income from sales (after tax)
Other operating income (all after tax)
Foreign currency translation gain (loss)
Unrealized gain (loss) on derivatives
Other
Operating income (after tax)
Financing income (expense)
61,133
49,462
11,671
57,420
47,904
9,516
6,595
943
693
3,440
5,112
836
498
3,070
745
2,695
762
(96)
666
2,404
17
(38)
(11)
30
(56)
2,618
23
2,446
Interest income
Interest expense
410
23
302
27
Net interest income
Tax effect (at 35%)
Net interest income after tax
387
135
252
275
96
179
Unrealized gains (losses) on financial assets
Net financing income after tax
56
308
31
210
2,926
2,656
Comprehensive income
310
880
(135)
2007
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
EXHIBIT 9.11
Reformulated Income
Statement for
General Mills, Inc.,
for Fiscal Year 2008
General Mills’s
comprehensive income
comes from revenues
from customers and
before-tax and aftertax other operating
income, less net
interest expense on its
net financial
obligations.
311
GENERAL MILLS, Inc.
Reformulated Comparative Income Statement for Fiscal Year 2008
(in millions of dollars)
Year Ending May 25
2008
Operating revenues
Cost of sales
2007
13,652
8,778
12,442
7,955
4,874
1,792
4,487
1,655
628
205
2,249
543
192
2,097
Gross margin
Administrative and general expenses
Advertising
Research and development
Operating income from sales (before tax)
Taxes
Taxes as reported
Tax benefit on other operating expense
Tax benefit on net interest
Operating income from sales (after tax)
Other operating income (before-tax items)
Restructuring and impairment charges
Tax effect (at 38.5%)
Other operating income (after-tax items)
Earnings from joint ventures
Foreign currency translation gain
Gain (loss) on hedge derivatives
Other
Operating income (after tax)
Net financing expense
Interest expense
Interest income
Net interest expense
Tax effect (at 38.5%)
Net financing expense after tax
Comprehensive income1
622
8
170
21
8
800
1,449
(13)
560
15
164
39
15
739
1,358
(24)
111
246
(2)
110
1,901
73
194
22
(21)
1,602
449
27
422
(170)
252
1,649
458
31
427
(164)
263
1,339
1
General Mills did not separately identify (the presumably small) minority interest in earnings.
assets in its strategic balance sheet while General Mills reports net financial expense flowing from its considerable net financial obligations. In both cases, operating income that pertains to the net operating assets is separated from the financing income, and that operating
income is broken down into operating income from sales and other operating income.
Dell’s other operating income has only after-tax items, but General Mills’s statement has
tax allocated to before-tax items within other operating income: Restructuring charges and
impairment losses are tax deductions, so reduce taxes.
Reformulated income statements and balance sheets are designed to identify the value
added to the strategic balance sheet. The focus is on the operating activities, for that is
where the firm trades with customers and suppliers to add value. We calculated residual
earnings for the equity in Chapter 5, but now we can identify residual earnings from the
312
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
operating component of the shareholders’ equity. The value-added measure is referred to as
residual operating income (ReOI). It is calculated as
Residual operating incomet = Operating incomet − (Required return ×
Net operating assetst−1)
ReOIt = OIt − (ρ − 1)NOAt−1
Here OI is operating income from the reformulated income statement, and NOA is net operating assets at the beginning of the year. If the required return for General Mills is 9 percent,
residual operating income for 2008 = $1,901 − (0.09 × 12,297) = $794.3.3 million. That is,
General Mills added $794.3 million in operations over the operating income required for a
normal return on the book value of operations.
Dell provides an illuminating case of how reformatted strategic balance sheets and
income statements identify the sources of value creation. When discussing the strategic
balance sheet, we pointed out that Dell’s negative net operating assets mean that its shareholders have negative investment in the business and that negative investment means they
can withdraw cash from the business and invest it elsewhere. Residual 2008 operating earnings for Dell (with a required return of 10 percent) is
ReOI2008 = $2,618 − (0.10 × −$7,209) = $3,338.9 million
Dell’s residual operating income from operations is actually greater than its operating
income! Why? Well, the negative net operating assets means that Dell effectively runs a
float that shareholders can invest elsewhere at 10 percent, and this value-adding feature
is picked up in the residual operating income calculation. The reformulated statements
identify two drivers of residual operating income: Operating income from trading with
customers plus the value of strategically structuring operations to deliver a float. In valuing Dell, we will keep these two drivers in mind: Dell can grow ReOI by increasing sales
and margins to produce operating income in the income statement and also by expanding the float in its management of assets and its relationships with customers and
suppliers.
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE BALANCE SHEET
AND INCOME STATEMENT
To make judgments about a firm’s performance the analyst needs benchmarks. Benchmarks
are established by reference to other firms (usually in the same industry) or to the same
firm’s past history. Comparison to other firms is called cross-sectional analysis. Comparison to a firm’s own history is called time-series analysis. Financial statements are prepared
for cross-sectional comparisons using the techniques of common-size analysis. The statements are compared over time using trend analysis.
Common-Size Analysis
Common-size analysis is simply a standardization of line items to eliminate the effect of
size. Line items are expressed per dollar of an attribute that reflects the scale of operations.
However, if that attribute is chosen carefully, and if reformulated statements are used, the
scaling will reveal pertinent features of a firm’s operations. And when compared across
firms, or across time, common-size statements will identify unusual features that require
further investigation.
313
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
EXHIBIT 9.12
Comparative
Common-Size
Income Statements
for Nike, Inc., and
General Mills, Inc.,
for 2008. Dollar
amounts in millions.
Percentages are per
dollar of sales.
Common-size income
statements reveal the
profitability of sales
and the effect of each
expense item on the
profitability of sales.
Nike
$
Revenue
Cost of sales
Gross margin
Operating expenses
General Mills
%
$
%
18,627
10,240
8,387
100.0
55.0
45.0
13,652
8,778
4,874
100.0
64.3
35.7
3,645
2,308
69
19.6
12.4
0.4
1,792
628
205
13.1
4.6
1.5
2,365
569
12.7
3.1
2,249
800
16.5
5.9
1,796
87
9.6
0.5
1,449
452
10.6
3.3
Operating income (after tax)
Net financing income (expense)
1,883
49
10.1
0.3
1,901
(252)
13.9
(1.8)
Comprehensive income to common
1,932
10.4
1,649
12.1
Administrative
Advertising
Other expense
Operating income from sales
(before tax)
Tax on operating income from sales
Other operating income from sales
(after tax)
Other operating income
Common-Size Income Statements
Exhibit 9.12 places Nike’s and General Mills’s reformulated 2008 income statements on
a common-size basis. Revenues and expenses, along with net comprehensive income, are
expressed as a percentage of the revenue.
The comparative common-size statements reveal two things:
• How firms do business differently and the different structure of revenues and expenses that
result. Looking at operating expenses, the firms have similar cost components, but Nike
has the lowest cost of sales per dollar of revenue (55.0 percent) and thus a higher percentage gross margin (45.0 percent). General Mills maintains the lowest administrative expenses at 13.1 percent of sales, and has lower advertising expenses (4.6 percent of sales).
• Operating profitability per dollar of sales. As each operating item is divided through by
sales revenue, the common-size number indicates the proportion of each dollar of sales
the item represents. Thus the number for an operating expense is the percentage of sales
that is absorbed by the expense, and the number for operating income is the percentage
of sales that ends up in profit. The latter is particularly important:
Operating profit margin from sales = Operating income from sales (after tax)/Sales
Nike’s profit margin from sales is 9.6 percent, compared with a 10.6 percent margin for
General Mills. Ratios also can be calculated for operating income before tax and for
total operating income, as in the exhibit. Reviewing the expense ratios, we see that Nike,
despite a higher percentage gross margin, had a lower profit margin than General Mills
primarily because of higher administrative and advertising expenses.
The final comprehensive income number, expressed as a percentage of sales, is the (comprehensive) net profit margin. The comparison of this number to the operating profit margin
reveals how much the firms increased or decreased their profits through financing activities.
Nike earned a net 10.4 cents of comprehensive income for every dollar of sales, compared
to 12.1 cents for General Mills.
314
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
EXHIBIT 9.13
Comparative
Common-Size
Balance Sheets for
Nike, Inc., and
General Mills Inc.,
for 2008. Dollar
amounts in millions.
Common-size balance
sheets reveal the
percentage makeup of
operating assets and
operating liabilities.
Nike
General Mills
$
%
$
93
2,795
2,438
0.9
28.6
25.0
50
1,082
1,367
0.3
5.9
7.4
Prepaid expenses
Property, plant, and equipment
Goodwill
602
1,891
449
6.2
19.4
4.6
511
3,108
6,786
2.8
16.9
36.8
Identifiable intangibles
Deferred taxes and other assets
743
748
9,760
7.6
7.7
100.0
3,777
1,750
18,431
20.5
9.5
100.0
1,222
1,790
88
854
3,954
30.9
45.3
2.2
21.6
100.0
937
3,164
—
1,483
5,584
16.8
56.7
—
26.6
100.0
Operating assets
Operating cash
Accounts renewable
Inventories
Operating liabilities
Accounts payable
Accrued liabilities
Income taxes payable
Deferred taxes and other
Net operating assets
5,806
%
12,847
Common-Size Balance Sheets
Common-size balance sheets often standardize on total assets, but a more informative
approach, using reformulated statements, standardizes operating assets and liabilities on
their totals. The operating section of the comparative common-size balance sheets for
the two firms is shown in Exhibit 9.13. The percentages describe the relative composition of the net assets in the operating activities. You can easily spot the differences
when the balance sheets are in this form; compare the relative amounts of investments in
accounts receivable, inventory, property, plant, and equipment, and so on, for the two
companies.
Trend Analysis
Exhibit 9.14 presents trends for Nike, Inc., from 2004 to 2008. The numbers on which the
analysis is based are in the BYOAP tool on the text’s Web site. See Box 9.5. Trend analysis expresses financial statement items as an index relative to a base year. In Nike’s case, the
index is 100 for the base year of 2003.
Trend analysis gives a picture of how financial statement items have changed over time.
The index for net operating assets indicates whether the firm is growing investments in
operations, and at what rate, or is liquidating. The index for common stockholders’ equity
tracks the growth or decline in the owners’ investment. And the index for net financial
obligations tracks the net indebtedness. Similarly, the indexes for the income statement
track the income and the factors that affect it. Of particular interest are sales, operating
income, and comprehensive income.
The picture drawn for Nike is one of sales growth over the five years, resulting in growth
in operating income from sales, after tax, of 136.9 percent and growth in comprehensive
income of 375.9 percent over the five years. The indexes for specific line items indicate
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
315
EXHIBIT 9.14 Trend Analysis of Selected Financial Statement Items for Nike, Inc., 2004–2008. Base = 100 for 2003.
Trend analysis reveals the growth or decline in financial statement items over time.
Income Statement
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
Base in 2003
($ millions)
Sales
Cost of sales
174.1
162.2
152.6
145.2
139.8
132.5
128.4
120.8
114.5
110.9
10,697
6,314
Gross margin
Operating expenses
191.3
186.4
163.4
155.6
150.3
138.7
139.5
129.7
119.8
116.9
4,383
3,232
Operating income from sales (before tax)
Operating income from sales (after tax)
Operating income
205.3
236.9
444.2
185.2
191.1
389.8
182.7
180.5
337.0
166.9
167.9
338.9
128.1
126.8
244.1
1,152
758
424
Comprehensive income to common
475.9
417.6
357.7
353.2
251.1
406
115.0
137.1
102.3
122.4
168.7
120.8
142.6
113.5
−479.6
158.0
108.6
119.6
99.1
112.9
151.2
92.0
118.7
110.4
−310.9
142.0
101.7
108.9
99.4
108.1
140.8
92.7
114.9
105.1
−95.4
120.1
2,084
1,515
1,621
6,241
523
999
1,911
4,330
302
4,028
Balance Sheet
Accounts receivable
Inventories
Property, plant, and equipment, net
Operating assets
Accounts payable
Accrued liabilities
Operating liabilities
Net operating assets
Net financial obligations
Common shareholders’ equity
134.1
161.0
116.7
156.4
233.5
179.1
206.9
134.1
−659.3
193.6
119.7
140.1
103.5
126.9
190.3
121.1
156.1
114.1
−721.4
176.7
where the growth has come from, and year-to-year changes indicate the periods that have
contributed most to growth. Cost of sales has grown slower than sales and, correspondingly,
gross margins have grown at a higher rate than sales. From the balance sheet trends, we observe that net operating assets have grown slower than sales, indicating that, as time has
evolved, more sales have been earned for each dollar invested in these assets.
Year-to-year changes in the index represent year-to-year growth rates. For example,
Nike’s 2008 sales growth rate was (174.1 − 152.6)/152.6, or 14.1 percent, compared with
the 2007 growth rate of (152.6 − 139.8)/139.8, or 9.2 percent. Comparisons of growth rates
raise questions for the analyst. In 2006, sales grew by 8.9 percent, but inventories grew by
a much larger amount, 14.6 percent. Why? Was the inventory buildup due to Nike having
trouble moving inventory, indicating lower demand and sales revenue in the future? Or was
Nike building up inventory in anticipation of higher demand in the future? Why did operating expenses grow faster than sales revenue in 2008? Such questions provoke the analyst
to further investigation.
Common-size and trend analysis can be combined by preparing trend statements on a
common-size basis. This facilitates the comparison of one firm’s trends with those of comparable firms.
Income Statement Ratios
PROFIT MARGIN RATIOS
Profit margins are the percentage of sales that yield profits:
Operating profit margin (PM) =
OI (after tax)
Sales
This profit margin is based on the total operating income on
the last line of operating income before financial items. It can
be divided into profit margin from income generated by sales
and profit margin from income that does not come from sales:
OI (after tax) from sales
Sales PM =
Sales
9.6
items’ PM is 0.5 percent, so its total operating profit margin is
10.1 percent.
The bottom-line margin ratio is
Net (comprehensive) Comprehensive income
=
income profit margin
Sales
Nike’s bottom-line margin in 2008 is 10.4 percent.
EXPENSE RATIOS
Expense ratios calculate the percentage of sales revenue that
is absorbed by expenses. They have the form
Expense ratio =
OI (after tax) from other items
Other items PM =
Sales
These two margins sum to the operating profit margin. The
most common other item in the income statement is the share
of income (or loss) of subsidiaries. This income is from sales
reported in the subsidiary, not from the reported sales in the
parent’s income statement. Including it in the analysis of
the profitability of the sales in the parent’s income statement
results in an incorrect assessment of the profit margin on
sales. Nike’s sales PM is 9.6 percent in Exhibit 9.12, its other
Expense
Sales
This ratio is calculated for each expense item in operating
income from sales so
1 − Sales PM = Sum of expense ratios
Expense ratios are given in Exhibit 9.12. Cost of sales for Nike
absorb 55.0 percent of sales. The firm’s total expense ratios
sum to 87.3 percent before tax and 90.4 percent after tax,
with the remaining 9.6 percent of sales providing operating
income after tax.
RATIO ANALYSIS
From the reformulated statements, we can calculate the two ratios that were introduced
in Chapter 7 to summarize the profitability of the operating activities and the financing
activities: return on net operating assets (RNOA), which is operating income after tax
relative to net operating assets, and net borrowing cost (NBC), which is net financial
expenses after tax relative to net financial obligations. If a firm has net financing assets
(rather than net financing obligations), like Nike, the profitability of the financing activities
is measured by return on net financial assets (RNFA).
For Nike, Inc., the return on net operating assets for 2008 was
RNOA =
1
1, 883
= 35.0%
5
806
+ 4, 939)
(
,
2
Nike’s 2008 net return on net financial assets was
RNFA =
1
49
= 2.3%
2 (1, 992 + 2, 179)
For General Mills, the 2008 RNOA was
RNOA =
316
1
1, 901
= 15.1%
12
847
+ 12, 297)
(
,
2
Balance Sheet Ratios
9.7
COMPOSITION RATIOS
FINANCIAL LEVERAGE
The percentages in common-size balance sheets (as in
Exhibit 9.13) are composition ratios:
A second leverage ratio gives the relative size of net financial
assets or obligations. General Mills has net debt in 2008, while
Nike holds net financial assets. The differences are captured
by ratios that compare totals for net operating assets and net
financing obligations to owners’ equity.
These ratios are
Operating asset composition ratio =
Operating asset
Total operating assets
Operating liability
Operating liability
=
composition ratio Total operating liabilities
Capitalization ratio = NOA/CSE
and
The ratios for individual items sum to 100 percent within their
category.
Financial leverage ratio (FLEV) = NFO/CSE
which is negative if the firm has positive net financial assets.
Financial leverage is the degree to which net operating assets
are financed by common equity. It is always the case that
OPERATING LIABILITY LEVERAGE
The composition of net operating assets can be highlighted by
comparing operating liabilities to net operating assets:
Operating liability leverage (OLLEV) =
Capitalization ratio – Financial leverage ratio = 1.0
Operating liabilities
Net operating assets
Thus, either measure can be used as an indication of the degree to which net financial assets are financed by common
equity or net financial debt, but it is usual to refer to the
financial leverage ratio. It is called a leverage ratio because, as
we will see in Chapter 11, borrowing levers the ROCE up or
down.
General Mills had a capitalization ratio of 1.99 and a
financial leverage ratio of 0.99 in 2008. Nike’s financial leverage ratio in 2008 was −0.26 percent and its capitalization ratio
was 0.74 percent.
The operating liability leverage ratio gives an indication of
how the investment in net operating assets has been reduced
by operating liabilities. It is called a leverage ratio because it
can lever up the return on net operating assets (RNOA) with
a lower denominator (as we will see in Chapter 11). For Nike,
the operating liability leverage ratio at the end of 2008 is
68.1 percent compared to 43.5 percent for General Mills. The
operating liability composition ratios reveal which liabilities
have contributed to the operating liability leverage.
and the net borrowing cost was
NBC =
1
252
= 4.1%
6
389
+ 5,839)
(
,
2
These returns are, of course, after tax (and after the tax benefit of debt). The calculations
use the average of beginning and ending balances in the denominator; they can be inaccurate if there are large changes in balance sheet items other than halfway through the year.
Net borrowing cost is particularly sensitive to the timing of large changes in debt. Always
compare the NBC against the cost of debt reported in the debt footnotes, as a check.
These profitability ratios will be analyzed in detail in Chapter 11. The common-size
analysis of the statements yield a number of ratios that will be used in that analysis. These
ratios are summarized in Boxes 9.6 and 9.7.
Both profitability and growth are relevant for forecasting residual earnings. Trend analysis that documents past growth yields a number of growth ratios that will be used in the
analysis of growth in Chapter 12. See Box 9.8.
Box 9.9 maintains the Accounting Quality Watch begun in the last chapter.
317
Growth Ratios
Trend analysis reveals growth. Four particular year-to-year
growth rates are important to the growth component of
valuation:
Growth rate in sales =
Change in sales
Prior period’ s sales
9.8
Growth in NOA =
Growth in CSE =
Change in net operating assets
Beginning NOA
Change in CSE
Beginning CSE
Growth rate in = Change in operating income (after tax)
operating income
Prior period’ s OI
Summary
We can put what we have done in this chapter in perspective by listing eight steps for
financial statement analysis:
1. Reformulate the statement of stockholders’ equity on a comprehensive income basis.
2. Calculate the comprehensive rate of return on common equity, ROCE, and the growth in
equity from the reformulated statement of common stockholders’ equity.
3. Reformulate the balance sheet to distinguish operating and financial assets and
obligations.
4. Reformulate the income statement on a comprehensive-income basis to distinguish
operating and financing income. Make sure taxes are allocated.
5. Compare reformulated balance sheets and income statements with reformulated statements of comparison firms through a comparative common-size analysis and trend
analysis.
6. Reformulate the cash flow statement.
7. Carry out the analysis of ROCE.
8. Carry out an analysis of growth.
Chapter 8 performed the first two steps. This chapter covers Steps 3–5, the next chapter
covers Step 6, and the analysis of ROCE and growth in Steps 7 and 8 is done in Chapters 11
and 12.
Reformulation of the income statement and balance sheet is necessary to calculate
ratios that correctly measure the results of the firm’s activities. If financing items are classified as operating items, we get an incorrect measure of both operating profitability
(RNOA) and financing profitability (NBC or RNFA). This chapter has led you through the
reformulations. Reformulation looks like a mechanical exercise. But it requires a good
knowledge of the business, an understanding of how the firm makes money. Indeed,
reformulation prompts the analyst to understand the business better. It requires her to dig
into the footnotes and the management discussion and analysis to understand the GAAP
statements and to incorporate more detail in the reformulated statements. With a rich set
of reformulated statements accompanied by comparative common-size and trend statements, the analyst is prepared to proceed to the analysis of profitability and growth in
Chapters 11 and 12.
You will sometimes find that lack of disclosure makes it difficult to classify items into
operating and financing categories. The problem can be serious if a significant portion of
earnings is in shares of subsidiaries’ earnings under the equity method (where the firm
holds less than 50 percent of the equity of a subsidiary). Reconstructing consolidated
318
Accounting Quality Watch
9.9
The Accounting Quality Watch, begun in Box 8.7 in the last chapter, continues here with a list of quality issues in the balance
sheet. The quality of the accounting in the balance sheet also affects the income statement, as indicated below. The Quality
Watch continues in the next chapter with the quality of cash flows. Further earnings quality issues are identified in the Quality
Watch in Chapter 12, where sustainable earnings are the focus.
Accounting Item
Assets
Held-to-maturity
debt investments
The Quality Problem
Held-to-maturity debt investments (typically classified as financial assets) are carried at historical
cost. This may not indicate their “cash value.” Identify market values from footnotes if available.
(Historical cost is usually a reasonable approximation of market value.)
Held-to-maturity
equity investments
“Held-to-maturity” equity investments (permanent investments) are carried at historical cost when
they involve less than 20 percent ownership of another firm (see Accounting Clinic III). So the balance
sheet does not give an indication of the value of the investments. Nor does the income statement: Only
dividends from the investments are recorded there, and dividends are not an indicator of value. The analyst needs to find a market value for the securities (if traded) or identify the share of income in the investee, as in the equity method.
Marked-to-market
equity investments
available for sale
Marking equity investments to market solves the problem of the held-to-maturity treatment.
However, further issues arise. First, unrealized gains and losses from the marking to market are
not reported in the income statement but rather in the equity statement. This not only misreports the
performance of the equity portfolio in the income statement, but it also permits firms to “cherry pick”
realized gains into the income statement and report unrealized losses in the equity statement. (Reformulating the income statement on a comprehensive-income basis solves the problem.) Second, market
prices can be bubble prices, so bubbles are brought into the financial statements. (They can also be depressed prices in an illiquid market.) Third, fair-value accounting allows estimates of the market price
when market prices are not available—so-called Level 3 estimates—and these estimates can be suspect.
Receivable
allowances
Allowance for bad debts can be biased. Decreases in allowances increase earnings (through
lower bad-debt expense) and increases decrease earnings. The same issue arises with allowances on
other assets, for example, a bank’s allowance against loans for default.
Deferred tax assets
Deferred tax valuation allowances reduce deferred tax assets for the probability that the tax benefit will
not materialize. The estimates involved are suspect, and earnings can be increased by changing the
allowance. Refer to the deferred tax footnote for details of the valuation allowance.
Goodwill
The price paid for an acquisition is divided between the fair value of identifiable (tangible and intangible)
assets acquired and goodwill. As tangible and intangible assets have to be subsequently depreciated or
amortized against earnings, firms might allocate more of the purchase price to goodwill (that is not
amortized, but rather subject to impairment).
Liabilities
Deferred (unearned)
revenue
Revenue must be recognized as goods are shipped or services performed. With multiyear contracts,
firms defer revenue to later years when performance takes place, creating a deferred revenue liability.
The amount deferred is subject to judgment: Firms can defer too little (aggressive revenue recognition)
or too much (conservative revenue recognition). In either case, current revenues may not be a good
indication of future revenues.
Accrued expenses
These are often estimates that can be biased. Watch particularly for estimated warranty liabilities (for
servicing warranties and guarantees on products) and estimated restructuring costs.
Lease obligations
Lease obligations, under capitalized leases, are on the balance sheet but those for operating leases are
not. Check the footnotes for off-balance-sheet lease obligations.
Pension liabilities
This involves a number of actuarial assumptions and the choice of a discount rate, so is a “soft” number.
Pension expense (in the income statement) is affected by changes in the estimated liability from changing these assumptions.
Dividends payable
This should be classified as shareholders’ equity, not a liability.
Contingent liabilities
Check the footnotes for any off-balance-sheet, contingent liabilities (for product liability or environmental
clean-up lawsuits, for example).
Other liabilities
Dig into footnotes to see what these involve.
Preferred stock
GAAP classifies preferred stock as equity (or, if it is redeemable, between liabilities and equity). This is a
liability from the common shareholders’ point of view.
319
320
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
The Web Connection
Find the following on the Web page for this chapter:
• Further examples of reformulated balance sheets and
income statements.
• Further discussion on distinguishing between operating
and financing items.
• A discussion of financial disclosure (and lack thereof)
and how poor transparency in the financial reports
frustrates the analyst.
• Directions to finding tax rates.
• The Readers’ Corner.
statements, or preparing statements on a segmented basis, helps rectify this problem. But
to the extent that disclosure is insufficient, profitability measures will be less precise. At the
other extreme, if disclosures—on the profitability of segments, for example—are plentiful,
the analysis is improved.
Key Concepts
capital lease is a lease of an asset for
substantially all of the asset’s useful life
and for which a lease asset and a lease
obligation are placed on the balance
sheet. 295
consolidation accounting is the
accounting process by which financial
statements for one or more related firms
are combined into one set of financial
statements. 294
effective tax rate is the average tax rate on
income. 303
enterprise assets are the net assets used in
operating activities, otherwise called net
operating assets (NOA). 291
enterprise income is income from the
firm’s operations, otherwise called
operating income or net operating
profit after tax (NOPAT). 301
financial leverage is the degree to which
net operating assets are financed by net
financial obligations. 317
marginal tax rate is the rate at which the
last dollar of income is taxed. 303
minority interest is the share of
shareholders in subsidiaries other than the
common shareholders of the parent
company. 296
net financial assets (obligations) are
net assets used in financing activities.
Distinguish from net operating
assets. 291
net financial expense is the expense
generated by a firm’s nonequity financing
activities. 301
net operating assets (NOAs) are net
assets used in operating a business,
otherwise called enterprise assets.
Distinguish from net financial assets
(obligations). 291
net operating profit after tax (NOPAT)
is income from a firm’s business
operations, otherwise referred to as
enterprise income. 301
operating cash is cash used in operations
(compared to cash invested in financial
assets). 292
operating income is income from a firm’s
business of selling products and services,
otherwise called enterprise income
or net operating profit after tax
(NOPAT). 301
operating lease is a lease which does
not entitle the lessee to use the lease
asset for substantially all of the asset’s
useful life and for which no asset or
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
obligation is recognized on the balance
sheet. 295
operating liability leverage is the degree to
which investment in net operating assets
is made by operating creditors. 317
residual operating income (ReOI) is
operating income in excess of the net
operating assets earning at the required
return. 312
statutory tax rate is the tax rate applied
to corporate income by statute. 304
321
strategic balance sheet is a reformulated
balance sheet that gives insight into how
the business is organized. 299
tax allocation involves attributing income
taxes to the appropriate component of
income that attracts the taxes. 303
tax shield is the effect that interest on debt
has of reducing corporate taxes. 303
trend analysis expresses financial
statement items as an index relative to a
base year. 314
The Analyst’s Toolkit
Analysis Tools
Reformulated balance sheets
Reformulated income
statements
Tax allocation
—Top-down method
—Bottom-up method
Common-size analysis
Trend analysis
Ratio analysis of the income
statement and balance
sheet
Page
291
301
302
306
306
312
314
316
Key Measures
Page
Effective tax rate for
operations
305
Net financial income
(or expense) after tax
301
Operating income
after tax (OI)
301
Ratios
Income statement ratios
316
Operating profit margin
(PM)
Sales PM
Other items PM
Net (comprehensive) income
profit margin
Expense ratio
Balance sheet ratios
317
Operating liability leverage
(OLLEV)
Financial leverage (FLEV)
Capitalization ratio
Growth ratios
318
Growth rate in sales
Growth rate in operating
income
Growth in NOA
Growth in CSE
Residual operating income 312
Acronyms to Remember
CSE common shareholders’ equity
FLEV financial leverage
NBC net borrowing cost
NFA net financial assets
NFE net financial expense
NFO net financial obligations
NOL net operating loss
NOA net operating assets
NOPAT Net operating profit
after tax
OI operating income
OLLEV operating liability leverage
PM profit margin
ReOI residual operating income
RNFA return on net financial
assets
RNOA return on net operating
assets
ROCE return on common equity
322
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
A Continuing Case: Kimberly-Clark Corporation
A Self-Study Exercise
Having reformulated Kimberly-Clark’s 2004 equity statement in Chapter 8, you are now
ready to move on to the balance sheet and income statement. These are given in Exhibit 2.2
in the Continuing Case for Chapter 2. You should have the reformulated equity statement
beside you, for all items in comprehensive income, identified there, must be included in the
reformulated (comprehensive) income statement.
At this point it is imperative to have a good read of the full 10-K. The management discussion and analysis (MD&A) and the financial summary have considerable detail that will
help you decide which items are operating and which are part of KMB’s financing activities. If you have not downloaded the 10-K already, do so now, or retrieve it from the
Web page supplement to Chapter 7.
REFORMULATION
Your task is to reformulate the balance sheets for 2004, 2003, and 2002 and the income
statement for 2004 and 2003 (only) along the lines of those for Nike, Dell, and General
Mills in this chapter. Go through and mark off the items you consider to be operating items
and those you deem to be involved in financing activities. As you read the 10-K, note any
detail that can be brought up to the face of the statements to make them more informative.
You will find, for example, that advertising expenses were $400.2 million, $401.9 million,
and $421.3 million for the years 2002, 2003, and 2004, respectively, and R&D expenditure
was $287.4 million, $279.1 million, and $279.7 million for these years.
To carry out the reformulation of comprehensive income for 2003, you need to examine
the equity statement for 2003 to identify other comprehensive income. To save you the
trouble, comprehensive income for 2003 is given here, with the inclusion of the hidden loss
from exercise of stock options:
Comprehensive income for 2003 (in millions)
Net income
Currency translation gain
Pension liability adjustment
Loss on cash flow hedge
Stock option compensation expense (after tax)
Comprehensive income
$1,694.2
742.8
(146.2)
(4.3)
(13.6)
$2,272.9
For the balance sheet, allocate $20 million to working cash each year. Be sure you identify all relevant components on the income statement, separating operating income from
sales from other operating income, and making the appropriate tax allocation. KimberlyClark’s statutory tax rate is 35.6 percent.
RATIO ANALYSIS
State in one or two sentences what the reformulated statements you have prepared are
saying. Then calculate the return on net operating assets and net borrowing cost for 2004
and 2003. Carry out a common-size analysis of the income statement that reveals information about the profitability of operations. Also calculate financial leverage (FLEV) and
operating liability leverage (OLLEV).
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
323
BUILDING YOUR OWN ANALYSIS ENGINE FOR KMB
You might add your reformulated statements into the spreadsheet you began building in
the last chapter. You will then be set up to analyze these statements within the spreadsheet as
you move to Chapters 11 and 12. The BYOAP feature on the book’s Web site will guide you.
Concept
Questions
C9.1. Why are reformulated statements necessary to discover operating profitability?
C9.2. Classify each of the following as a financial asset or an operating asset:
a. Cash in a checking account used to pay bills.
b. Accounts receivable.
c. Finance receivables for an automobile firm.
d. Cash in 90-day interest-bearing deposits (cash equivalents).
e. Debt investments held to maturity.
f. Short-term equity investments.
g. Long-term equity investments held to maturity.
h. Goodwill.
i. Lease assets.
j. Deferred compensation.
C9.3. Classify each of the following as a financial liability, an operating liability,
or neither:
a. Accrued compensation.
b. Deferred revenues.
c. Preferred stock.
d. Deferred tax liability.
e. Lease obligations.
f. Interest-bearing note payable.
C9.4. From the point of view of the common shareholders, minority interest is a financial
obligation. Correct?
C9.5. What is meant by saying that debt provides a tax shield?
C9.6. When can a firm lose the tax benefit of debt?
C9.7. What does an operating profit margin reveal?
Exercises
Drill Exercises
E9.1.
Basic Calculations (Easy)
a. The following numbers were extracted from a balance sheet (in millions):
Operating assets
Financial assets
Total Liabilities
$547
145
322
Of the total liabilities, $190 million were deemed to be financing liabilities. Prepare a
reformulated balance sheet that distinguishes items involved in operations from those
involved in financing activities.
324
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
b. An income statement consists of the following line items (in millions):
Revenue
Cost of goods sold
Operating expenses
Interest income
Interest expense
$4,356
3,487
428
56
132
The firm pays no taxes. Prepare a reformulated income statement that distinguishes
items involved in operations from those involved in financing activities.
E9.2.
Tax Allocation (Easy)
A firm reported $818 million of net income in its income statement after $140 million of
net interest expense and income tax expense of $402 million. Calculate operating income
after tax and net financial expense after tax, using a statutory tax rate of 35 percent.
E9.3.
Tax Allocation: Top-Down and Bottom-Up Methods (Easy)
From the following income statement (in millions), calculate operating income after tax,
using both the top-down and bottom-up methods. Use a tax rate of 37 percent.
Revenue
Cost of goods sold
Operating expenses
Interest expense
Income taxes
Net income
E9.4.
$ 6,450
(3,870)
(1,843)
(135)
(181)
$ 421
Reformulation of a Balance Sheet and Income Statement (Easy)
Reformulate the following balance sheet and income statement for a manufacturing
concern. Amounts are in millions. The firm bears a 36 percent statutory tax rate.
Balance Sheet
Assets
Liabilities and Equity
Operating cash
Cash equivalents
Accounts receivable
Inventory
Property, plant, and equipment
$
23
435
1,827
2,876
3,567
Total assets
$8,728
Accounts payable
Accrued expenses
Deferred tax liability
$1,245
1,549
712
Long-term debt
Preferred stock
Common equity
Liabilities and equity
3,678
432
1,112
$8,728
Income Statement
Revenues
Operating expenses
Interest expense
Income before tax
Income tax
Net income
Preferred dividends
Net income available to common
$7,493
6,321
221
951
295
656
26
$ 630
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
E9.5.
325
Reformulation of a Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Statement
of Shareholders’ Equity (Medium)
The following financial statements were reported for a firm for fiscal year 2009 (in millions
of dollars):
Balance Sheet
2009
2008
Operating cash
Short-term investments (at market)
60
550
50
500
Accounts receivable
Inventory
940
910
790
840
2,840
5,300
2,710
4,890
Property and plant
2009
2008
Accounts payable
Accrued liabilities
1,200
390
1,040
450
Long-term debt
Common equity
1,840
1,870
1,970
1,430
5,300
4,890
Statement of Shareholders’ Equity
Balance, end of fiscal year 2008
Share issues
Repurchase of 24 million shares
Cash dividend
Unrealized gain on debt investments
Net income
Balance, end of fiscal year 2009
1,430
822
(720)
(180)
50
468
1,870
The firm’s income tax rate is 35%. The firm reported $15 million in interest income and $98
million in interest expense for 2009. Sales revenue was $3,726 million.
a. Reformulate the balance sheet for 2009 in a way that distinguishes operating and
financing activities. Also reformulate the equity statement.
b. From the information in these reformulated statements and the additional information
given, prepare a reformulated statement of comprehensive income.
E9.6.
Testing Relationships in Reformulated Income Statements (Medium)
Fill in the missing numbers, indicated by capital letters, in the following reformulated income
statement. Amounts are in millions of dollars. The firm’s marginal tax rate is 35 percent.
Operating revenues
Cost of sales
Other operating expenses
Operating income before tax
Tax as reported
Tax benefit of interest expense
Operating income after tax
Interest expense before tax
Tax benefit
Interest expense after tax
Comprehensive income
5,523
3,121
1,429
What is the firm’s effective tax rate on operating income?
A
B
C
D
E
(F)
42
610
326
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
Applications
E9.7.
Price of “Cash” and Price of the Operations: Realnetworks, Inc. (Easy)
In October 2008, the 142,562 thousand outstanding shares of Realnetworks, Inc., traded at
$3.96 each. The most recent quarterly balance sheet reported $454 million in net financial
assets and $876 million in common shareholders’ equity.
a. What is the price-to-book ratio for the firm’s equity?
b. What is the book value of the firm’s net operating assets?
c. At what price is the market valuing the business operations?
E9.8.
Analysis of an Income Statement: Pepsico, Inc. (Easy)
Pepsico, Inc. reported the following income statement for 1999 (in millions of dollars):
Net sales
Operating expenses
Restructuring charge
Operating profit
Gain on asset sales
Interest expense
Interest income
Provision for income taxes
Net income
20,367
(17,484)
(65)
2,818
1,083
(363)
118
3,656
1,606
2,050
a. Reformulate this statement to distinguish operating items from financing items and
operating income from sales from other operating income. Identify operating income after
tax. The firm’s statutory tax rate is 36.1 percent.
b. Calculate the effective tax rate on operating income from sales.
Real World Connection
Exercise E4.12 deals with Pepsico, as do Minicases M5.2 and M6.2.
E9.9.
Financial Statement Reformulation for Starbucks Corporation (Medium)
(This exercise builds on Exercise E8.8 in Chapter 8, but can be worked independently.)
Below are comparative income statements and balance sheets for Starbucks Corporation, the retail coffee vendor, for fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, along with a statement of shareholders’ equity. Read the statements along with the notes under them, then
answer the following questions:
a. Prepare a reformulated equity statement for fiscal year 2007 that separates net payout
to shareholders from comprehensive income.
b. Prepare a reformulated comprehensive income statement for fiscal year 2007, along
with reformulated balance sheets for 2007 and 2006.
c. For fiscal year 2007, calculate the following: return on common equity (ROCE), return
on net operating assets (RNOA), and net borrowing cost (NBC). Use beginning-ofyear balance sheet amounts in denominators. Also calculate the financial leverage ratio
(FLEV) at the beginning of the 2007 fiscal year.
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
327
STARBUCKS CORPORATION
Consolidated Statements of Earnings
(in thousands, except earnings per share)
Fiscal Year Ended
September 30, 2007 October 1, 2006
Net revenues:
Company-operated retail
$7,998,265
Specialty:
Licensing
$6,583,098
1,026,338
860,676
Food service and other
Total specialty
Total net revenues
386,894
1,413,232
9,411,497
343,168
1,203,844
7,786,942
Cost of sales including occupancy costs
Store operating expenses
Other operating expenses
Depreciation and amortization expenses
General and administrative expenses
Total operating expenses
Income from equity investees
Operating income
Net interest and other income
Earnings before income taxes
Income taxes
Earnings before cumulative efffect of change in
accounting principle
Cumulative effect of accounting change for FIN 47,
net of taxes
Net earnings
Per common share:
Earnings before cumulative efffect of change in
accounting principles—basic
Cumulative effect of accounting change for FIN 47,
net of taxes
Net earnings—basic
Earnings before cumulative efffect of change in
accounting principles—diluted
Cumulative effect of accounting change for FIN 47,
net of taxes
Net earnings—diluted
Weighted average shares outstanding:
3,999,124
3,215,889
294,136
467,160
489,249
8,465,558
108,006
1,053,945
2,419
1,056,364
383,726
3,178,791
2,687,815
253,724
387,211
479,386
6,986,927
93,937
893,952
12,291
906,243
324,770
672,638
581,473
$ 672,638
17,214
$ 564,259
$
0.90
$
0.76
$
0.90
$
0.02
0.74
$
0.87
$
0.73
$
0.87
$
0.02
0.71
Basic
Diluted
749,763
770,091
766,114
792,556
328
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except share data)
Fiscal Year Ended
September 30, 2007 October 1, 2006
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
Short-term investments—available-for-sale securities
Short-term investments—trading securities
Accounts receivable, net
Inventories
Prepaid expenses and other currrent assets
Deferred income taxes, net
Total current assets
Long-term investments—available-for-sale securities
Equity and other investments
Property, plant, and equipment, net
Other assets
Other intangible assets
Goodwill
Total Assets
$ 281,261
$ 312,606
83,845
73,588
87,542
53,496
287,925
691,658
148,757
224,271
636,222
126,874
129,453
1,696,487
21,022
258,846
2,890,433
219,422
42,043
215,625
$5,343,878
88,777
1,529,788
5,811
219,093
2,287,899
186,917
37,955
161,478
$4,428,941
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Commercial paper and short-term borrowings
Accounts payable
Accrued compensation and related costs
Accrued occupancy costs
Accrued taxes
Other accrued expenses
Deferred revenue
Currrent portion of long-term debt
Total current liabilities
Long-term debt
Other long-term liabilities
Total liabilities
Shareholders’ equity:
Common stock ($0.001 par value)—authorized,
1,200,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding,
738,285,285 and 756,602,071 shares, respectively,
(includes 3,420,448 common stock units in both
periods)
$ 710,248
390,836
332,331
74,591
92,516
257,369
296,900
775
2,155,566
550,121
354,074
3,059,761
$ 700,000
340,937
288,963
54,868
94,010
224,154
231,926
762
1,935,620
1,958
262,857
2,200,435
738
756
Other additional paid-in-capital
Retained earnings
39,393
2,189,366
39,393
2,151,084
Accumulated other comprehensive income
Total shareholders’ equity
54,620
2,284,117
37,273
2,228,506
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity
$5,343,878
$4,428,941
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
329
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity
(in thousands, except share data)
Additional Other Additional
Common Stock
Paid-in
Paid-in
Shares
Amount
Capital
Capital
Balance, October 1,
2006
756,602,071
Net earnings
Unrealized holding loss,
net
Translation adjustment,
net of tax
Comprehensive income
Stock-based
compensation
expense
Exercise of stock
options, including tax
benefit of $95,276
12,744,226
Sale of common stock,
including tax
provision of $139
1,908,407
Repurchase of common
stock
(32,969,419)
Balance,
September 30, 2007
738,285,285
$756
$
$39,393
Retained
Earnings
$2,151,084
672,638
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income/(Loss)
Total
$37,273
$2,228,506
672,638
(20,380)
(20,380)
37,727
37,727
689,985
106,373
106,373
13
225,233
225,246
2
46,826
46,828
(33)
$738
(378,432)
$
0
(634,356)
$39,393
$2,189,366
(1,012,821)
$54,620
$2,284,117
Notes:
1. Short-term and long-term investments, available for sale, are debt securities.
2. Short-term investments listed as trading securities are investments in equity mutual funds as part of a defined contribution plan for employees. The
corresponding deferred compensation liability ($86,400 thousand in 2007) is included in accrued compensation and related costs.
3. $40,000 thousand of cash and cash equivalents in both 2007 and 2006 is working cash used in operations.
4. Net interest and other income in the 2007 income statement includes the following (in thousands):
Interest income
Interest expense
Realized gain on available-for-sale investments
Gain on assets sales
Other operating charges
$ 19,700
(38,200)
3,800
26,032
(8,913)
$ 2,419
5. Income from equity investees is reported after tax.
6. The firm’s combined state and federal statutory tax rate is 38.4 percent.
7. Unrealized holding losses in comprehensive income refer to losses on available-for-sale debt securities.
Real World Connection
Starbucks is dealt with also in Exercises E8.8, E11.9, E12.8, and E14.10.
E9.10.
Reformulation and Effective Tax Rates: Home Depot, Inc. (Medium)
Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer in the United States and one of the
largest retailers.
Home Depot’s income statements for 2003–2005 are below, along with an extract from
its tax footnote. Reformulate the income statement for 2005 with the appropriate tax allocation between operating activities and financing activities. Apply both the top-down and
bottom-up methods. Calculate the effective tax rate on operations for 2005.
330
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
THE HOME DEPOT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Earnings
(amounts in millions, except per-share data)
Fiscal Year Ended
January 30,
2005
Net sales
Cost of merchandise sold
Gross profit
Operating expenses:
Selling and store operating
General and administrative
Total operating expenses
Operating income
Interest income (expense):
Interest and investment income
Interest expense
Interest, net
Earnings before provision for income taxes
Provision for income taxes
Net earnings
Weighted-average common shares
Basic earnings per share
Diluted weighted-average common shares
Diluted earnings per share
February 1,
2004
February 2,
2003
$73,094
48,664
$64,816
44,236
$58,247
40,139
24,430
20,580
18,108
15,105
1,399
16,504
12,588
1,146
13,734
11,276
1,002
12,278
7,926
6,846
5,830
56
(70)
(14)
7,912
2,911
$ 5,001
2,207
$ 2.27
2,216
$ 2.26
59
(62)
(3)
6,843
2,539
$ 4,304
2,283
$ 1.88
2,289
$ 1.88
79
(37)
42
5,872
2,208
$ 3,664
2,336
$ 1.57
2,344
$ 1.56
Note 3: Income Taxes
The provision for income taxes consisted of the following (amounts in millions):
Fiscal Year Ended
January 30,
2005
Current:
Federal
State
Foreign
Deferred:
Federal
State
Foreign
Total
February 1,
2004
February 2,
2003
$2,153
279
139
2,571
$1,520
307
107
1,934
$1,679
239
117
2,035
304
52
573
27
174
1
(16)
340
5
605
(2)
173
$2,911
$2,539
$2,208
The Company’s combined federal, state, and foreign effective tax rates for fiscal 2005, 2004, and 2003,
net of offsets generated by federal, state, and foreign tax benefits, were 36.8%, 37.1%, and 37.6%,
respectively.
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
331
The reconciliation of the provision for income taxes at the federal statutory rate of 35% to the actual tax
expense for the applicable fiscal years is as follows (amounts in millions):
Fiscal Year Ended
January 30,
2005
February 1,
2004
February 2,
2003
Income taxes at federal statutory rate
State income taxes, net of federal income
tax benefit
Foreign rate differences
$2,769
$2,395
$2,055
215
(17)
217
(29)
156
(1)
Change in valuation allowance
Other, net
Total
(31)
(25)
$2,911
—
(44)
$2,539
—
( )
$2,208
Real World Connection
Exercises E5.12, E11.10, E12.9, and E14.3 also deal with Home Depot, as does Minicase
M4.1.
332
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
Minicases
M9.1
Financial Statement Analysis:
Procter & Gamble I
Formed in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble as a small family-operated soap and
candle company, Procter & Gamble Co. is now a leading consumer products company with
over $83 billion in revenues. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the firm’s products are
sold in more than 180 countries.
P&G’s product range covers laundry detergents, toothpaste, baby diapers, paper towels,
beauty and health products, shampoos, snacks, coffee, and pet food. The firm is better
known by its brands: Charmin, Pampers, Bounty, Tide, Downy, Cascade, Olay, Tampax,
Crest, Head and Shoulders, Pringles, Folgers, and more. The maintenance of these brands,
along with innovative packaging and effective distribution through the retail supply chain,
is critical to the success of the company’s operations. Product innovation and marketing,
along with streamlined production and distribution, have contributed to growth, but the
firm has also purchased brands through acquisition of other companies. In fiscal 2006, the
firm acquired Gillette for $53.4 billion, adding Gillette’s shaving and grooming products to
its range along with Duracell batteries.
The branded consumer products business is very competitive, and P&G battles the likes
of Unilever, Avon, Clorox, Kimberly-Clark, L’Oreal, Energizer, and Colgate. Like these
companies, continual innovation is essential to the firm’s continuing profitability, so the
firm maintains an extensive research and development operation, including marketing
research, and spends considerable amounts on advertising and promoting its brands.
Learn more about the firm by going to its Web site at www.pg.com. Go to the Investor
page, download the firm’s annual report, and read the management letter and the Management Discussion and Analysis. Also look at the firm’s 10-K in its EDGAR filing with the
SEC. Though always having a gloss, management communications are helpful in understanding the strategy and how the management is executing on that strategy. The stress on
brand innovation and research is evident in P&G’s management letters.
After understanding the company, go to the financial statements, which, along with the
footnotes to the statements, are our main focus for financial statement analysis. Survey the
management certification on its financial reporting and internal controls. Make sure the auditor’s letter does not contain anything unusual. Make a list of the footnote headings so you
are reminded of where to go for more detail.
Now you are ready for analysis. We will be engaged with P&G through a series of minicases, beginning with this chapter and continuing through Chapter 12. At each stage we
will add another aspect to the analysis so that, by the end of Chapter 12, you will have a
thorough analysis that prepares you to value the firm.
At this point, you are required to reformulate the income statements and balance sheets
to ready them for analysis. Exhibit 9.15 presents the published income statements for
2006–2008, along with statement of shareholders’ equity for the three years and balance
sheets for 2005–2008. Additional information provided after the statements will aid you.
As advertising and research and development (R&D) are so important to P&G, make sure
you include these as line items in the reformulated statements.
If you are adept at spreadsheet analysis, you might put the reformulated statements into
a spreadsheet that can then be used to apply the financial statement analysis in later
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
333
chapters. You could also build annual reports for years after 2008 into the spreadsheet, as
they become available, so that you continue to track the firm as it evolves. The BYOAP
feature on the Web site will guide you in this task.
After carrying out the reformulations, compare the statements to those for General Mills
in Exhibits 9.5 and 9.11. Though devoted primarily to packaged food products, General
Mills is a similar brand marketing company. Do the statements reveal the same sort of business organization? How do they differ?
Now compare the statements to those for Nike (in Exhibits 9.3 and 9.9) and Dell (in
Exhibits 9.4 and 9.10).What are the differences, and what do they tell you about how the
respective firms run their businesses?
A. Calculate the return on common equity (ROCE) for each year 2006–2008.
B. Calculate the return on net operating assets (RNOA) for each year 2006–2008.
C. What was the operating profit margin from sales for each year?
D. Calculate expense ratios (as a percentage of sales) for advertising and R&D for each
year. Do you see trends?
E. Calculate sales growth rates for 2007 and 2008 and also growth rates for operating
income from sales.
F. Calculate growth rates for net operating assets for 2006–2008. Do you see a trend?
Is there any one balance sheet item that particularly affects the growth?
G. Calculate P&G’s financial leverage ratio at the end of 2008.
H. Why were translation gains so large in 2008?
I. Where in the financial statements do you see how much P&G paid for the Gillette
acquisition?
J. Why did goodwill increase so much in 2006?
Real World Connection
This case continues with Minicases M11.1, M12.1, M14.1 and M15.1.
EXHIBIT 9.15
Comparative
Financial Statements
for Fiscal Year 2008
for Procter &
Gamble Co.
The financial
statements should be
read with the
accompanying
footnotes.
Consolidated Statements of Earnings
(amounts in millions except per share amounts; Years ended June 30)
2008
2007
2006
$83,503
40,695
25,725
17,083
$76,476
36,686
24,340
15,450
$68,222
33,125
21,848
13,249
1,467
462
16,078
1,304
564
14,710
1,119
283
12,413
Income taxes
Net earnings
4,003
$12,075
4,370
$10,340
3,729
$ 8,684
Basic net earnings per common share
Diluted net earnings per common share
Dividends per common share
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
Net sales
Cost of products sold
Selling, general, and administrative expense
Operating income
Interest expense
Other nonoperating income, net
Earnings before income taxes
3.86
3.64
1.45
3.22
3.04
1.28
2.79
2.64
1.15
(continued)
334
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
EXHIBIT 9.15
(continued)
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(amounts in millions; June 30)
2008
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Investment securities
Accounts receivable
Inventories
Materials and supplies
Work in process
Finished goods
Total inventories
Deferred income taxes
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Total current assets
Property, plant, and equipment
Buildings
Machinery and equipment
Land
Total property, plant, and equipment
Accumulated depreciation
Net property, plant, and equipment
Goodwill and other intangible assets
Goodwill
Trademarks and other intangible assets, net
Net goodwill and other intangible assets
Other noncurrent assets
Total assets
Current liabilities
Accounts payable
Accrued and other liabilities
Taxes payable
Debt due within one year
Total current liabilities
Long-term debt
Deferred income taxes
Other noncurrent liabilities
Total liabilities
Shareholders’ equity
Convertible Class A preferred stock, stated
value $1 per share (600 shares authorized)
Nonvoting Class B preferred stock, stated
value $1 per share (200 shares authorized)
Common stock, stated value $1 per share
(10,000 shares authorized; shares issued:
2008—4,001.8, 2007—3,989.7)
Additional paid-in capital
Reserve for ESOP debt retirement
Accumulated other comprehensive income
Treasury stock, at cost (shares held: 2008—969.1,
2007—857.8)
Retained earnings
Total shareholders’ equity
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity
$
3,313
228
6,761
2007
$
2006
2005
5,354
202
6,629
$6,693
1,133
5,725
$ 6,389
1,744
4,185
2,262
765
5,389
8,416
2,012
3,785
24,515
1,590
444
4,785
6,819
1,727
3,300
24,031
1,537
623
4,131
6,291
1,611
2,876
24,329
1,424
350
3,232
5,006
1,081
1,924
20,329
7,052
30,145
889
38,086
(17,446)
20,640
6,380
27,492
849
34,721
(15,181)
19,540
5,871
25,140
870
31,881
(13,111)
18,770
5,292
20,397
636
26,325
(11,993)
14,332
59,767
34,233
94,000
4,837
$143,992
56,552
33,626
90,178
4,265
$138,014
55,306
33,721
89,027
3,569
135,695
19,816
4,347
24,163
2,703
61,527
$6,775
10,154
945
13,084
30,958
23,581
11,805
8,154
74,498
5,710
9,586
3,382
12,039
30,717
23,375
12,015
5,147
71,254
4,910
9,587
3,360
2,128
19,985
35,976
12,354
4,472
72,787
3,802
7,531
2,265
11,441
25,039
12,887
1,896
3,230
43,052
1,366
1,406
1,451
1,483
—
—
—
—
4,002
60,307
(1,325)
3,746
(47,588)
48,986
69,494
$143,992
3,990
59,030
(1,308)
617
3,976
57,856
(1,288)
(518)
2,977
3,030
(1,259)
(1,566)
(38,772)
41,797
66,760
138,014
(34,235)
35,666
62,908
135,695
(17,194)
31,004
18,475
61,527
Chapter 9 The Analysis of the Balance Sheet and Income Statement
335
EXHIBIT 9.15 (continued)
Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity
(dollars in millions/shares in thousands)
Reserve
Accumulated
Common
Additional for ESOP
Other
Shares
Common Preferred Paid-In
Debt
Comprehensive Treasury Retained
Outstanding Stock
Stock
Capital Retirement
Income
Stock
Earnings
Balance, June 30, 2005
Net earnings
Other comprehensive income:
Financial statement translation
Net investment hedges,
net of $472 tax
Other, net of tax benefits
Total comprehensive income
Dividends to shareholders:
Common
Preferred, net of tax benefits
Treasury stock purchases
Employee plan issuances
Preferred stock conversions
Gillette acquisition
ESOP debt impacts
Balance, June 30, 2006
Net earnings
Other comprehensive income:
Financial statement translation
Net investment hedges,
net of $488 tax
Other, net of tax benefits
Total comprehensive income
Adjustment to initially apply
SFAS 158, net of tax
Dividends to shareholders:
Common
Preferred, net of tax benefits
Treasury stock purchases
Employee plan issuances
Preferred stock conversions
ESOP debt impacts
Balance, June 30, 2007
Net earnings
Other comprehensive income:
Financial statement translation
Net investment hedges,
net of $1,719 tax
Other, net of tax benefits
Total comprehensive income
Cumulative impact for
adoption of FIN 48
Dividends to shareholders:
Common
Preferred, net of tax benefits
Treasury stock purchases
Employee plan issuances
Preferred stock conversions
ESOP debt impacts
Balance, June 30, 2008
2,472,934
$2,977
$1,483
$3,030
$(1,259)
$(1,566)
8,684
1,316
(786)
518
$ 9,732
(3,555)
(148)
16
(32)
983
(9)
1,308
5
53,522
(16,821)
887
27
(1,134)
(319)
3,976
1,451
57,856
(1,288)
(518)
(34,235)
35,666
62,908
10,340
10,340
2,419
2,419
(835)
(116)
(835)
(116)
$11,808
(333)
(333)
(4,048)
(161)
(89,829)
37,824
5,110
14
(45)
(5,578)
1,003
38
1,167
7
(20)
3,131,946
3,990
1,406
59,030
(1,308)
617
(38,772)
41,797
66,760
12,075
12,075
6,543
(2,951)
(463)
12
(40)
$4,002
$1,366
$60,307
(2,951)
(463)
$15,204
(232)
(232)
(4,479)
(176)
(4,479)
(176)
(10,047)
2,480
(10,047)
1,196
35
1,272
5
(17)
3,032,717
$(1,325)
(4,048)
(161)
(5,578)
2,184
(20)
6,543
(148,121)
43,910
4,982
(3,555)
(148)
(16,830)
1,892
53,371
(29)
(29)
3,178,841
8,684
1,316
(786)
518
(297,132)
36,763
3,788
962,488
Total
$(17,194) $31,004 $18,475
1
$3,746
(16)
$(47,588) $48,986 $69,494
(continued)
336
Part Two The Analysis of Financial Statements
EXHIBIT 9.15 (concluded )
Notes:
1. Advertising expense and research and development expenses for 2006–2008 are as follows (in millions):
Advertising
Research and development
2008
$8,667
2,226
2007
$7,937
2,112
2006
$7,122
2,075
2. “Other nonoperating income” in the income statement consists of the following:
Interest income
Gains (losses) from asset sales
204
258
462
287
277
564
367
(84)
283
3. “Accrued and other liabilities” and “other noncurrent liabilities” consist largely of pension obligations and other postretirement benefit liabilities.
4. The combined federal, state and local statutory tax rate is 38 percent.
M9.2
Understanding the Business Through
Reformulated Financial Statements:
Chubb Corporation
Chubb Corporation is a property and casualty insurance holding company providing insurance through its subsidiaries in the United States, Canada, Europe, and parts of Latin
America andAsia. Its subsidiaries include Federal,Vigilant, Pacific Indemnity, Great Northern,
Chubb National, Chubb Indemnity, and Texas Pacific Indemnity insurance companies.
The insurance operations are divided into three business units. Chubb Commercial
Insurance offers a full range of commercial customer insurance products, including coverage for multiple peril, casualty, workers’ compensation, and property and marine. Chubb
Commercial Insurance writes policies for niche business through agents and brokers.
Chubb Specialty Insurance offers a wide variety of specialized executive protection and
professional liability products for privately and publicly owned companies, financial institutions, professional firms, and health care organizations. Chubb Specialty Insurance also
includes surety and accident businesses, as well as reinsurance through Chubb Re. Chubb
Personal Insurance offers products for individuals with fine homes and possessions who
require more coverage choices and higher limits than standard insurance policies.
Chubb’s balance sheets for 2006 and 2007 are in Exhibit 9.16. Its 2007 comparative
income statement is also given, along with a statement of comprehensive income that Chubb
reports outside both the equity statement and the income statement. You are asked to reformulate these statements in a way that captures how Chubb carries out its business operations
and that reveals the profitability of those operations. The statutory tax rate is 35 percent, but
note that $232 million of investment income is interest on tax-exempt bonds.
First you should understand how insurers “make money.” Insurance companies run underwriting operations where they write insurance policies and processes and pay claims on
those policies. They are also involved in investment operations where they manage investments in which the considerable “float” from insurance operations is invested. Accordingly,
you see both investment assets and liabilities on the balance sheet as well as assets and liabilities associated with insurance. You also see revenues and expenses associated with both
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